Chosen Two - Year Three & Year Four
by HeathenVampires
Summary: Sequel to Chosen Two - Year One and Year Two. After two years of adventures, Vlad is struggling with his feelings and Harry is struggling to find out who he is. And they just can't seem to stay out of trouble... Powerful!Vlad and Powerful!Harry/eventual Vlad x Harry/rated T for swearing.
1. Kidnap Rescue

**And so, we've made it to Year Three! Welcome back readers!**

 **If you're new here, you may want to go back and read Chosen Two - Year One and Year Two. Otherwise you'll not understand a great deal.**

-YDHP-

True to Vlad's note, the Dursleys didn't say a single word to him, his uncle Vernon helping Harry get his trunk up the stairs without bashing the walls but that was it. He was left to his own devices, glad he had leftover sweets and drinks from the train - Vlad and Draco both had a tendency to over buy but it meant they always had some to take with them. Lily poked her head out of his pocket, hissing sleepily up at him. "Where is my tank wizard?" "Vlad told me not to unpack, so you'll have to settle for my pocket or my arm." It was only early afternoon, so Harry didn't know if whatever Vlad was planning would happen soon or not until the night.

"Very well. I will resume napping. Wake me when I can have my tank back." Lily went back to his pocket, and Harry realised she would probably be too big for that within a year. He imagined in the future, when Lily would be a ten foot long serpent. How was he supposed to carry her then? Hopefully, he would get stronger as she grew larger. It would only be a couple of years before she would be too thick to wrap around any part of his body other than as draped over his neck. Still, he could worry about that later. Pulling a book out of his trunk, he settled in for the duration and hoped Vlad hadn't forgotten about him.

It was getting late, and dark out before Harry started to worry. He overheard hurried murmurs downstairs from the Dursleys, probably about why Harry was even still there. A knock at the door made him jump slightly, but his heart leapt when he recognised Vlad's voice. "Boy! Get down here!" That wasn't Vlad's voice, and Harry quickly patted himself down to check he had his wand and Lily. Vlad appeared at his bedroom door, smiling as Harry jumped to hug him. "Did you think we had forgot you? Just couldn't leave until it was dark because of Bertrand." They had spells for that, but maybe they didn't have sun potions to stop Bertrand smouldering - the spell protected him from death, the sun block potion stopped his skin hissing angrily and smoking.

"Got everything?" Harry nodded, watching as Vlad waved a hand to hover his trunk. "Lets go then." Following Vlad and the floating luggage box down, Vlad turned and smiled. "With luck, this is the last time you'll ever be here." He didn't miss Vlad glaring at the Dursleys, or Dudley staring dumbly at Ingrid - it really did happen everywhere they went. "What do we tell your kind, if they come looking for him here?" Vlad quirked an eyebrow at Vernon Dursley, as though he didn't want to even address the man. "Have they come looking before?" The large moustached man shook his head.

"Then don't worry. If they do, just say he's with vampires." Ingrid must be wearing fake fangs, Harry mused, as Bertrand and she hissed and bared sharp teeth at the muggles, who shrank back in horror. "Ready to go? Only, we shouldn't hang about." Harry cast one last, dispassionate look at his human relatives, then turned a smiling face to Vlad. "Lead the way."

Sure enough, Ingrid spat plastic fangs into her mouth, tossing them aside in the grass without a second glance as Bertrand grabbed the floating trunk. "We need an empty alleyway or something, any clue local boy?" Vlad prompted, and Harry led them to a nearby alley, barely wide enough for them to crowd together. "Lovely." Ingrid gave the litter and graffiti a distasteful glare, and Vlad produced a kite from his pocket. "Hold on tight." Harry reached out a hand, looking over at Vlad. "Where are we going?"

Vlad winked, simply repeating "trust me?" and waiting for Harry to nod. Casting wary looks up and down the alleyway to check they weren't about to be seen, Vlad whispered "Malfoy Manor" and Harry felt the jerking sensation of portkey as the darkened world flashed by. Stumbling as his feet hit the ground hard, Harry looked around as soon as he could see straight. "Wow. This place is huge!" They had landed in a courtyard, though that didn't seem an adequate word to describe the enormous, clearly well groomed area.

Patches of perfectly cut grass were fringed with flowers Harry had never seen anything even slightly resembling, filling the air with a sweet, heady floral scent. There were albino peacocks strutting along flawlessly manicured hedges, the enclosed garden space leading to a side valley that could lead to who knows what. All surrounding a structure unlike anything Harry had ever seen before, huge and marbled white, the words "ancestral home" stirred in his mind before Harry could really think about it. "Malfoy Manor?" Vlad nodded, grinning and whistling loudly.

"You made it!" Draco appeared in a vast doorway, bigger even than Hogwarts entrance doors. "Yep, all here and accounted for!" Vlad indicated Harry to follow him, Ingrid and Bertrand already heading inside. Professor Snape was already there, and Draco was bouncing happily as the Draculas, Harry and Bertrand stepped through the doors, which closed behind them of their own accord.

"It came through! It was just waiting here when we got back from Hogwarts." Draco held up a piece of paper, which Harry managed to read as confirmation of Severus Snape taking legal guardianship of Draco Malfoy. "Awesome. Everything went to plan, I'm thrilled for you both. Does that make Bertrand your stepfather?" Vlad continued grinning unapologetically when both Bertrand and Snape glared at him, but Draco merely shrugged. "Who knows? Come on, come see your rooms!"

Vlad took over floating Harry's trunk as they followed Draco up a huge, sweeping staircase, along a couple of corridors lined with portraits of people who bore passing resemblance to the blond boy. "Malfoy ladies suite, because Ingrid wouldn't settle for less than the best. Yes, you can change the colours if you want." In spite of the Slytherin heritage of the Malfoy's, the room was done only in dark cherry wood and burgundy bedding. "You say that like I wouldn't have done it anyway." The Dracula girl waved a hand and suddenly the fabrics were all green, the dark cherry wood now black and the heavy window drapes a deep, shimmering silver.

"Vlad, Harry, your rooms are those two doors there." Draco indicated two doors opposite each other. "Mines the one just over there" the blond pointed again "and Severus and Bertrand have seperate rooms but I don't see them using both." The teens chuckled, and Harry pushed open one of the doors at random. "They are both basically the same, but Vlad and Ingrid won't be staying here as much as you." His trunk followed him in, settling neatly on an ottoman at the base of a large four poster bed.

"So, this is what? Where I'm staying for the summer?" Staring around the high ceiling, following the elegant carvings in every wooden detailing on the walls, Harry was a little overwhelmed. "That's the plan. This is one of the safest places in England now, thanks to the most ridiculous amount of warding. We only got in because we are added to the wards, nobody else in the world can get in without permission. Or an obscene amount of magical power and time, but there's a dozen alarm spells that would go off if anyone tried. If anyone tried to say you should go back, I would point out the Dursleys was not anywhere near as safe."

Vlad had a good point, without bringing up why Harry wasn't safe there - everyone here knew to some extent, but with any luck, Harry wouldn't have to go back or even think about the Dursleys ever again. "Get settled, we'll do junk food for dinner as celebration for finishing this school year in half an hour." Harry nodded, flipping open his trunk to take his clothes and Lily's tank out. "Thank you wizard." Harry tapped the heat mat on, and Lily made a hissing sound that was almost purring as she coiled up in the tank. Opening the wardrobe, he was surprised to find clothes already hung up on there.

"I uh, guessed your sizes but we can alter them. Consider it an early birthday gift. Or thanks for saving me from my father, whatever." Turning, Harry found Draco hovering in the doorway, looking somewhat shy. "No, it's great, thank you." Absolutely un-used to getting gifts at all before Hogwarts, unless he counted a coathanger, socks or a mop, Harry flushed and awkwardly resumed hanging up his school robes and the few things he wanted to keep of his hand me downs. Which weren't many. "Laundry basket is there, you have your own bathroom. If you get lost, just call Dobby." There was a popping sound as Draco said that, and Harry recognised a house elf appearing.

"You called Master Draco?" Draco indicated Harry. "This is Harry, he will be staying here with us. Accept his orders as if they were mine." "Yes sir!" This elf had a squeaky, high voice just like the school elves had, and ears so big they flapped like bat wings in the elf's exuberant bouncing. "I gotta go introduce him to Bertrand, Vlad and Ingrid. You finish getting settled, I'll come get you soon." Harry was left alone then, finding himself loading his textbooks into the empty bookcase and perusing the bathroom. There was a bathtub, well tub wasn't the right word. A sunk in miniature swimming pool complete with three (he didn't know what the third tap did) faucets, a shower corner tiled in, and a shelf stocked with an array of expensive looking toiletries. All in all, the grandeur made Harry feel distinctly out of place.

Sinking down on the bed, Harry could feel the luxurious downy thickness of the duvet, a fluffy earthy green throw comforter slung over the end of the bed. "So, what do you think of your summer home?" Looking up, Harry spied Vlad leaning against the doorway. "It's all so... fancy. It's a little intimidating." Vlad shrugged, looking around. "I live in a castle. Nothing quite like this, but you know, I guess I'm sort of used to huge stuff. But yeah, it's real... Grand. That being said, you'll be safe here. And hopefully happier than you would have been there." That thought seemed to make Vlad happy all in itself, the blue eyes lighting up as Vlad smiled softly.

"Yeah, good point. When do you guys have to go?" Vlad's smile faded a little, not really gone but noticably less bright. "Tomorrow, dads already so mad at me for staying over the holidays this year and I only got away with tonight by saying me and Ingrid would be out breaking multiple laws. He called us 'young hellraisers' and practically kicked us out at nightfall." An odd sort of chuckle left Harry - Vlad's father was a strange, strange man. Well, he was Count Dracula, that probably made a difference.

* * *

"Why are you doing all this Vlad? I appreciate it, but I'm confused." Vlad remembered Draco pulling him aside, quizzing him on why he had helped break the Malfoy family apart so completely. "Because you deserve to be safe and happy in your own home. I do have a favour to ask." His friend has been eager to offer anything in return, though he seemed a little thrown by Vlad's request.

"Let Harry stay with you. He can't stay with the Dursleys. Not again." They put together a plan, which included Vlad having to learn the mechanics of word-activated portkeys and risking a whole lot of getting arrested. The end result being a purring contentment in his chest - his mate was safe here. And Malfoy Manor was... impressive to say the least. "Hedwig is here too, Malfoy owlery is a good space, and far away from me which is all those owls care about." Phantom was back at Stokely Castle still, his bedroom door and window charmed to keep his father out and her toys and food where she could get them easily.

Harry grinned, making Vlad's heart skip a little as his whole face brightened. He both wanted to stay, resolutely spending the entire summer holidays around Harry, and wanted to run away, get an actual grip on the feelings he had very little control over lately. He supposed he was lucky they were so young, Vlad could get a hold on the feelings before... physical desires made it more complicated. Not that Harry wasn't beautiful, he was so beautiful it made Vlad's chest ache, but hormones and things like that weren't an issue yet. Right now, the only physical want Vlad had for Harry was to be near him, to make him smile and hug him - like a friend. And that would be enough, he was sure of it.

Clinging to that notion, he indicated to Harry it was time to move for food. Harry's stomach growled almost perfectly timed, and the two headed down long hallways, wide staircases and through polished oak doors. "I gotta tell you, I know we have a dining table that seats eight when there's three of us at home, but this" Vlad indicated the enormous, ridiculously ornate dining table "is just exceptionally exorbitant." Draco shrugged, sitting at the head seat with a smug from and indicating everyone else to copy. "I didn't choose it, this table is older than any of us. Wait, I don't know how old Bertrand is." The tutor looked surprised, which was unusual as vampires generally enjoyed being asked how old they were, it made them seem impressive passing five hundred without being slain.

"Four hundred and... something. It's not something I dwell on often." "Ok, the table isn't older than you. Anyway, food!" As he spoke, plates appeared on the table like magic. True to his word, it was all junk - pizza, thick cut chips and enough chocolate, cake and ice cream to give the whole of Gryffindor diabetes. "The house elves are going overboard, celebrating me being home. Don't think you have to finish everything." Bertrand was quite funny to watch, eyeing the pizza like it was going to attack. Snape wasn't much better, looking mildly offended as the four students ate with gusto, even Ingrid falling to the happy mood of celebration.

"Oh man, I'm stuffed. Bed time, yes?" Harry groaned as he patted his stomach, complaining his baggy jeans finally fit him as he staggered to his feet. "Yeah, I agree. We'll chat in the morning. When I can move." Draco followed Harry, grumbling as he stood and the four of them bid the teachers goodnight before retiring to their rooms. Half muttered goodnights shared between the teens, and Vlad barely managed to brush his teeth and kick off his shoes before he curled up on the luxurious bed. Even using magic to put on pyjamas sounded too much like hard work.

When he woke, stiff and uncomfortable in his wrinkled clothes, Vlad decided to make use of the huge, extravagant shower. There were towels, and new, clean clothes hanging in the wardrobe So he didn't have to clean and straighten his slept-in outfit. Granny would love these clothes, richly made fabric and obviously tailored fitting. Finding a comfortable looking jumper and some almost casual looking trousers, uncomfortable in 'smart attire', Vlad stepped back into his shoes and shrunk his clothes down to take home with him.

"Morning!" Draco's exuberant mood had not faded when they woke, practically bouncing around in his white button down shirt and black trousers, shoes so polished maybe even Bertrand would see a reflection in them. "Hey. I'm guessing the other two are still asleep? Ingrid's never been an early riser." A nod of the blond head, both glancing at Harry's door. "Let him sleep, first peaceful sleep in a summer holiday he's ever had." He followed Draco down to breakfast, neither teacher there yet but Vlad didn't want to dwell on why. Even the porridge seemed to be high quality, and a jug of pumpkin juice appeared next to him, accompanied by a glass and a wink from his friend. "Can't have you going without a fix."

Rolling his eyes, he mumbled a thank you all the same, Harry not appearing (with Dobby as a guide) until Vlad was done with breakfast. "Don't worry, we saved you bacon." Harry chuckled sleepily, thanking another house elf for his cup of tea and eating more bacon and eggs than Vlad thought should reasonably fit in his stomach, especially after the enormous pile of pizza and cake the wizard had ingested last night. Ingrid surfaced half way through the morning, dressed and her hair and makeup flawless (which confused Vlad as he didn't remember her bringing her makeup box... which used to be almost the same size as her Hogwarts trunk before she started using magic).

His sister didn't fully show any awareness of her surroundings until she had finished a mug of coffee, her first words of the morning "what is that third tap for in the bathroom?". Draco answered absently with "bubble bath! You tap your wand to change the setting", whilst flicking through a copy of The Daily Prophet. They fell silent again after that until Bertrand and Snape appeared, and nobody commented on the dark bruise at the base of their Potions professors neck. Well, until Ingrid started sniggering to herself, then asked if Bertrand had gotten peckish in the night. That was the first time Vlad had ever seen any colour in his potions teachers face, a faint flush on his cheeks as his hand moved to his neck.

Vlad tried to diffuse the awkward tension. "We all know you're dating, just don't forget glamour charms when we're back at school." The rest of breakfast was silent, and Vlad knew they couldn't put off heading back home much longer. Ingrid seemed to realise the same, not complaining when Vlad pulled out the kite and gestured to her. "You staying Bertrand? It's not like we won't visit." Harry and he both had the charmed journals to talk to each other if nothing else. His tutor did decide to stay, at least until the next time they would be there, for Harry's birthday in just over a week. Harry and Draco both hugged Vlad, got a softer-than-usual glare from Ingrid and bade them goodbye.

"Stokely Castle" activated the port key to take them home, the sense of being away from Harry painfully acute for a few minutes. Ingrid didn't comment as Vlad stumbled to a chair, rubbing at the dull ache in his chest. "Is he... But he's not a vampire?" Vlad could only nod, breathing through the pain until it receded. "I know, I know. It's not like we get a choice in these things." Checking their father was nowhere near and overhearing - he did NOT want to have that conversation with his father anytime soon. Or ever. "Does he know?"

"Good garlic no! Bertrand knows, so I guess Professor Snape has an inkling at the very least. There wasn't much chance of hiding it when Harry freaked about me being a biter." Ingrid had worked it out, so she knew what a rejection would do to him. "He got over it though." Vlad nodded, remembering Hermione dragging Harry there to 'set them straight'. The ache in his chest finally faded, letting him breathe evenly again. "You can't tell him. I won't be the one to take even more choice away from him." Ingrid's face softened, an arm wrapped around his shoulders. "Maybe you're not such a wimpire after all." Chuckling as he returned the embrace to his sister, Vlad simply replied with "cheers Ingrid."

-YDHP-

 **Year Three has begun!**


	2. Tricky Celebrations

**Kitsune Jewel - I'm so glad you can't get enough of this! I have promised you guys powerful Harry, and it will happen! Just be patient!**

 **As for Harry noticing Vlad... You'll just have to wait and see! I can't promise poor Vlad will catch a break there anytime soon.**

 **Dark Serpent Cat - that sort of stuff won't come until at least year four, because Harry has other concerns like finding more out about his grandfather this year!**

-YDHP-

Harry still expected to wake up with Aunt Petunia banging on the door, calling him to make breakfast and the kidnap/rescue attempt to have been a dream. Peering around the room blurrily, even without his glasses he knew this was not Dudleys second bedroom. Nor was his bed at the Dursleys like sleeping on a cloud, fluffy and warm and spacious. Stretching luxuriously, he yawned and reached for his glasses. Blinking as his eyes adjusted, Harry looked around the huge, extravagant room and ambled over to the bathroom. Deciding the amazing bath would be a before bed activity, he showered quickly and realised he couldn't magically dry his hair - he needed Vlad for that now they weren't at Hogwarts.

Towel drying it as much as possible, he tried to smooth it down somewhere resembling tidy before perusing the wardrobe. These clothes were all a little too smart for Harry, but he could hardly complain when Draco had done this to be nice, and as thanks for Harry helping him out. Buttoning up a deep green shirt over black trousers, he chuckled at the Slytherin hints all over the place before seeing if he could make the trip today without getting lost. Successfully finding his way to the dining hall, Draco was already there peering blearily into a cup of tea.

"Morning sleepy head." "I've been awake a while, I showered and realised without Vlad my hair has to dry naturally." He could see lingering beads of moisture on the side of Draco's neck, clearly he had had the same problem. "Yeah, uncle Severus can do that for us but I think it's showing he has a nocturnal partner, I've never known him not be up at the crack of dawn before." Harry fell to the stacks of toast and bacon happily, washing it down with a cup of tea and still not used to the fact he wasn't away from Hogwarts hoping for some burnt bacon and a slice of bread with some water.

When he spied the pre teens with damp hair, Harry offered his Potions professor a grateful smile when he charmed their hair dry. "Thanks Professor." He could almost see the effort it cost the man to ground out "here, and only here, you may refer to me as Severus." Fighting a cheeky grin, Harry nodded. "Only if you call me Harry. Sir. Severus."

"Very well Po- Harry." Sensing the tension of unfamiliar... familiarity - in spite of having spent a lot of time with Draco's godfather through the year, now they were actually sort of... living together. That was a strange thought. "Hey, check this out." Draco pushed the Daily Prophet over to Harry, a story about Arthur Weasley winning the 'annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw'. "That's awesome, I bet her brothers are relieved to get to see Ginny after what happened at school." The Weasley family - minus Ron - were waving, grinning brightly from a picture on the fourth page of the newspaper.

"Says they are going on holiday in August. I'm very happy for them." He returned the paper to Draco, pouring himself a fresh cup of tea and watching the amusingly similar habits of Severus and Bertrand eating. Both ate almost compulsively neatly, though Bertrand tended to eat mostly meat whilst Severus had a more balanced selection. Both also wiped their mouths roughly every five mouthfuls, and placed their cutlery just so when they were done. Lily made herself known then, uncoiling from his wrist to slither onto the table. "Oh, that reminds me. Well, Vlad reminded me. There's like, frozen dead mice in a little compartment of the freezer, we don't really have them here and I knew Lily would need feeding. Just ask the elves to defrost one and deliver it to you." Harry relayed the message to Lily, who answered with "tomorrow" and made her way over to a leftover sausage on Harry's plate.

"Lily said thank you, she'll have a mouse tomorrow but right now she wants that sausage." Draco must have known he was lying, as Lily hadn't made that much sound but he nodded anyway, flicking through the paper while they waited for the adults to be done eating. "Right. From breakfast until lunch will be spent in some form of study, with the afternoons for yourselves. When you complete your summer homework, I will set you either reading or potions practice. Your birthday and Draco's excursions to Diagon Alley will of course, be exceptions." It was a vast improvement on doing his homework by himself, wondering if everything had been a long, bizarre dream the year before, so Harry didn't argue.

"Which subjects are you taking Harry?" Bertrand enquired, fingers laced together loosely on top of the table but he looked genuinely interested. "Care of Magical Creatures, and Healing. I wasn't sure any of the other subjects were for me, Muggle studies and divination would be near enough pointless, and I'm not quite as excited as Vlad when it comes to Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. So I decided to take subjects I was sure I would want to continue to NEWT level, and have the adequate time to study."

"Surprisingly well thought out. For now, I imagine you both have the same summer homework to be getting on with. I expect to see you in the library in fifteen minutes." Severus (that was going to take some getting used to) didn't seem to be glaring as severely as he usually did, and getting homework out of the way early on and a head start on studying didn't actually sound like a bad idea in general. "After lunch, I'll show you our flying pitch. Start with Charms?" Draco grinned as they picked up their textbooks, Harry having been told there were quills, ink and parchment already in the library waiting.

"Eagle owl?" "Does it make a difference to writing?" Draco shrugged, handing Harry a quill and they set up on a table in the centre of the room. "Everything is divided into subjects here, that corner is charmed because the books are either evil or dangerous in some way. I would get rid of them, but Bertrand wants to read them first." Harry looked where his friend was pointing, seeing a corner boxed in by the backs of book cases - he couldn't even see a way in. "Fair enough. So, twelve inches on the limitations of fire and ice based charms."

The two worked diligently until lunch, chatting to compare notes but mostly silent other than the scratch of quills, the turning of pages. Measuring carefully, Harry grumbled. "Still three inches short." "Careful, or there will be no lunch for you." Harry flinched, barely even aware he had done it and hurried to keep writing - he didn't need them thinking he wasn't good enough to deserve good here too.

"Harry! I'm kidding. Of course we aren't going to starve you... Oh. They did that didn't they?" Shrugging, Harry kept on with his work. He had admitted the Dursleys was not a good environment when Draco needed the encouragement, but he was only even remotely comfortable talking about it to Vlad, and that was subjective in itself. "Stop it Harry, you can finish your essay tomorrow. Come get some food, then lets go flying." Still feeling a little awkward, Harry was quiet over a rich leek and potato soup accompanied by roast beef sandwiches. Sipping at some pumpkin juice, he handed over his mornings work to Sna- Severus, stomach in knots. "Why do you look so scared Harry? Even if you only did half an essay a day, you would be finished by the end of next week."

Shrugging absently at Bertrand, Harry kept his face behind his glass until Draco opened his mouth, paying no mind to Harry's glare. "I made a joke he wouldn't get lunch if he hadn't finished. I forgot that used to be a very real possibility. I'm sorry Harry." "It's fine."

"Po- Harry" Severus sighed "you will not be denied food for any reason other than if you are ill, or currently leant over a cauldron making a potion. Both solely because of my lack of desire to clean up after you. If your work were outright lazy and shoddy, the worst you would lose is your afternoon freedom until it was sufficient. This is excellent for an incomplete essay, you can finish it tomorrow."

Taking the invitation to go flying with Draco, Harry made a stop for his broomstick out of his trunk, not wanting to use one of the highly polished, new looking Malfoy collection when he had his trusty Nimbus 2000 with him. He did truly love flying, diving and soaring and nothing else concerning him as fresh air whipped past his face. "Fancy a real game Potter?" "Bring it on Malfoy!" The boys grinned at each other in mid air, and even though he had seen it before it was still odd to see Bertrand out in the July sunshine. "Teleporting snitch. Basically, you pick a timer, and it'll count whoever catches it the most." The boys agreed on an hour, each gripped the ball so it remembered their touch and Severus charmed it.

Draco was a very good flier, but Harry was a natural seeker and even with well matched brooms, he beat Draco twelve catches to nine. "Good job I plan on trying out for the keeper position next year when Wood leaves." "Show me what you're made of then Malfoy." There was a set of Quidditch balls in the broom cupboard, so Harry grabbed the quaffle and they spent another hour practising Draco's goal keeping skills. He caught more than half, but was vulnerable to Harry feinting to one side and then throwing at the other.

They were both achy, all but dropping into chairs for dinner, then Harry indulged in a bath and went through at least ten types of bubble bath on the changeable tap - there were thick purple bubbles that smelled like lavender which made him sleepier, bright green bubbles that wouldn't pop unless Harry tapped them with his wand, and something that made the water blue and almost gloopy, which let Harry float on his back in the bath. Placing a dry towel over his pillow to absorb any excess moisture, Harry dropped into the inviting bed and was asleep almost instantly.

* * *

"I am not eating that! It's alive!" Only home for three days, his father was already firmly back on the "make Vlad more vampiric" track. Which at this moment, involved a fluffy bunny rabbit on the table that Vlad was supposed to be biting and drinking. "I'm not a vampire yet! I don't even have the fangs to bite it with, and I'm not going to try." His father growled in anger and irritation, thunder cracking outside as he shouted something to the effect of "start acting like one!" before he flitted off. Sagging back into his chair, Vlad looked at the bunny rabbit. "Come on, lets get you outside while it's light Mr buns." Ingrid snorted as he transported the rabbit out to the driveway, dropping it outside the gated walls where it could find it's way down.

"Mr buns?" "I don't know, first thing that came to mind." Ingrid hummed, resuming her Transfiguration essay work. "You could tell him you've gone very vampiric, found your... you know." Knowing Ingrid meant his mate - Harry - Vlad shook his head avidly. "Not a chance, he'll either hunt him down and drain him, or contract me off to some crazy vampiress in order to 'straighten' me out. Pun very much intended."

Ingrid didn't have a counter argument for that - she knew Vlad was probably right. "Where is that accursed tutor of yours? Ingrid should be preparing for her final blood test, and you your first Vladimir." Well, now was a good time to try and test the water on his fathers view of homosexuality. "He's spending the week with his boyfriend, then Ingrid and I are spending the week after at a friends. They have a magical library, and need our unique skills in some evil curse detection stuff" that was stretching the truth a little, but Vlad knew his father would have only heard curse and evil "and then all three of us will be back for at least the majority of the time until September. I told you all this yesterday."

"Evil curses you say? At least you have the right sort of academic interests, we just need to transfer that to your behaviour. Wait, wait" Vlad waited for the explosion "boyfriend? I knew it! What sort of name is Bertrand? With his rolling R's and wavy hair. Of course he would be... Oh well, no great loss. Not like you would be my son, you shall grow up dark and powerful and spawn plenty of Dracula heirs!" Cringing, Vlad shrugged his fathers hand off his shoulder, already counting down the days to Harry's birthday when they could escape for the week at Malfoy manor. Scratching out a mistake on his essay, Vlad could only scowl at his fathers retreating figure before turning to Ingrid - "Told you."

The time between that painful conversation and them leaving for Malfoy manor was spent half panicking about what to get Harry, and half being giddy at the thought of seeing him again. The whole mastering his feelings was not going spectacularly, it seemed. Ensuring his stuff was all packed away in his magically expanded backpack, Vlad had a lightbulb moment for Harry's gift, or at least part of it. A sort of desperate pleading with Ingrid gave Vlad a snake shaped pendant - he could transfigure one, but it wouldn't hold the port key charm permanently if he did. He did charm the chain to be unbreakable, then spent most of the day coming up with the list of word activations to the portkey. Lastly adding a glamour so Harry could make it look like a lion to everyone else, Vlad was satisfied with his work on that.

The second was based on something Harry had mentioned in passing - how would he transport Lily easily when she was past the point she could curl around his arm and sleep in his pocket? The Gryffindor jumper from first year would do for material, the inside charmed expanded and weightless - even when Lily was ten feet long, she could snugly fit in the pouch Vlad made and Harry could get her from one place to another without being seen carrying an enormous serpent. Not that Lily would appreciate the Gryffindor colours on the edges, but it was all in the name of camouflage.

Scribbling out a note explaining the particulars, Vlad wrapped them in parchment he charmed to resemble snitch-patterned wrapping paper and placed them carefully in the front pouch of his backpack. Almost too excited to sleep, Vlad all but jumped out of bed on the 31st July - Harry didn't know they were having a birthday party later that day for him but Vlad knew, bouncing with excitement as he waited for Ingrid to be ready. "You have five minutes or I'm portkeying without you!" "You wouldn't dare zombie licker!" was shouted back out from Ingrid's crypt room, and she was right. Even Vlad wasn't so far gone in his excitement to leave Ingrid alone with their father when she could be happy and get all the attention she wanted at the manor.

Raising an eyebrow, he couldn't put his fang on it but Vlad could swear Ingrid was making more effort than usual today. "Ready?" "Yeah, just gonna say goodbye to dad." Vlad did feel a measure of guilt for how little he saw his father since starting Hogwarts, but it was only seven years and they were immortal creatures - it was the blink of an eye despite his fathers dramatics. "We'll be back in a week, then it'll just be out for a couple of shopping trips for school supplies." His father dropped elegantly and dramatically over his throne, groaning as though Vlad was dancing naked and covered in garlic. "You abandon me so frequently!" Rolling his eyes, Vlad shot back with "if you didn't try to eat anyone with a pulse who comes through the door, we wouldn't have this problem."

He got no reply, so Vlad tucked Phantom into her carrier and gripped it tightly, shouldering his backpack and holding the kite out to Ingrid. When she touched it, Vlad muttered "Malfoy Manor" and they were jerked, dragged magically through the air and dropped heavily in the garden of Malfoy Manor. Three house elves were waiting, bouncing on the balls of their feet excitedly. "Master Draco expects you in the main reception room mister and miss." Smiling at the exuberance of the elves, Vlad and Ingrid hurried inside to find Draco looking thrilled to see them.

"Glad you could make it. What's the story again?" They peered around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping - namely Harry - and Vlad quickly, quietly spoke. "Harry's birthday is the only one in the summer holidays, so you offered to host his birthday. After we all leave, he will go to an unnamed location for his own safety. On no accounts does anyone else find out he lives here." Placing Phantoms carrier down, Vlad retrieved his familiar who gave him an affectionate lick, then leapt over to annoy Draco by getting fur on his expensive shirt. She started purring, so predictably Draco let her get away with it.

"The grounds are warded so she can't disappear, not that I expect her to. So long as she doesn't eat the peacocks." Vlad smiled as Draco stroked Phantom, getting her head rubbed against his cheek and ear for his trouble. "Unlikely, she's scared of birds." Now done harassing Draco, Phantom shot up the stairs to cause havoc elsewhere with her furry face. "We'll just go drop off our stuff, where is Harry?" "Should be in his room, we spent an hour this morning flying and he wanted a shower before you guys got here." Vlad all but bounded up to his room, thankful for the natural sense of direction he was born with as he dropped his bag off, hunting out Harry's gifts and knocking on the door hesitantly.

Harry opened the door, a wide grin spreading over his face and it made Vlad's heart stutter. "Happy birthday!" He couldn't help but hug Harry, joyous in the other teenagers presence alone. Realising there was water dripping from Harry's hair, Vlad waved his hand. "Better?" "Much! I didn't realise how reliant I was on magic for that." Harry turned away, leading Vlad further into the room and he had clearly been part way through dressing - he hadn't even noticed Harry was topless, eyes fixed on the bright and happy face. Dropping the gifts on Harry's bed, Vlad smiled. "I'll uh, let you finish getting ready. Gonna go irritate my tutor."

Ducking out before Harry could see the faint flush of his cheeks, Vlad shook his head and went back downstairs. The invites were timed portkeys - he had needed help from his Potions professor and Ingrid for that one, Vlad was the most powerful easily, but some of the theory and specifics escaped him - one of his motivations to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.

By the time he made it back down to the front doors, Seamus and Dean were both staring around, awestruck by the sheer size of the gardens and building, their mothers probably equally so. "Hey guys!" They looked for the source of Vlad's voice, turning bright grins to him. "This is Draco's house? It's huge!" Having heard similar things from Harry, he nodded.

"Yeah. Well, it's Malfoy Manor and he's the Malfoy heir, so yeah, it's his until he produces a son. I think. He's thirteen, I have no idea." Waving a hand dismissively, he shooed them through to the dining room and stood waiting for the others. Neville and his very stern looking grandmother were next, and he was somewhat surprised the boy had come at all - his grandmother clearly didn't approve of the Malfoy's. Having met Draco's parents, Vlad wasn't surprised. Introducing himself politely to who turned out to be Augusta Longbottom, he added a little bow before hugging Neville. "Seamus, Dean and Draco are in there. Bubbly here will show you." House elves had such ridiculous names, and Vlad felt bizarre giving them orders but they had agreed on him greeting first so it didn't look like a trap.

Last but not least, the Weasley family appeared, also looking taken aback by the place. "Vladdo!" "No, it's Vladdy!" Rolling his eyes at the twins, he greeted Ginny, her parents and the eldest brother still at Hogwarts - Percy. "Anyway. Vladddd, is Ingrid here?" Smirking as he withheld the information, Vlad knew they had everyone and led the redheads in. Harry was just making his way downstairs as Vlad closed the door behind them, looking to see the snake pendant resting just between Harry's still-too-prominent collarbones. "Lily highly approves of the pouch, but said if you try to make her a Gryffindor again she will bite you."

Chuckling, Vlad was happy Harry and Lily seemed to enjoy their gifts. "I would put the glamour over that, just saying." Harry looked at him suspiciously, but changed his necklace to the lion appearance the same. "Come on, cake!" Pretending that was all that was waiting, Vlad opened the first door and watched Harry open the second one - he could hear the loud "Happy Birthday Harry!" shouted even across the room. Stepping up behind him, Vlad quickly explained "Hermione couldn't make it because she's in France or Germany, I'm not sure because my dad set fire to the letter. Said she'll see us in Diagon Alley if she can't make it here before." Harry nodded, still looking a little dazed as Vlad encouraged him to head over to the party people.

There was cake, Vlad hadn't lied about that. And a banner with 'Happy Birthday Harry' across it. There was a table now piled with gifts from everyone, but Vlad hadn't wanted to explain his in front of anyone else. Chewing on a chocolate frog, he gravitated over to Professor Snape and Bertrand, who occasionally chatted with the parents. Well, the other parents. Snape was now Draco's legal guardian, and Bertrand and he had been dating for at least two years now. By vampire standards, they were all but engaged.

"Weasleys and loud partying in Malfoy Manor. His ancestors must be turning in their graves." Swallowing the last webbed chocolate foot, Vlad wiped his mouth. "Harry looks happy, not sure he's ever properly celebrated his birthday." There was an amusing moment where Fred and George were trying to juggle cauldron cakes to impress or amuse Ingrid, he wasn't sure to begin with, before Ingrid 'accidentally' made them explode and there were two cake coated Weasleys. Who Ingrid glared at distastefully, brushing crumbs off her jacket and demanding they go away until they were cleaned up, and then to go away just because.

Having never met Ingrid properly, the other parents were clearly a little offset by her behaviour, Seamus and Dean both making fools of themselves at the only Slytherin in attendance unless they counted her head of house. As the party wound down, Vlad caught the "No, I'm just hosting because I have this place and I wanted to show off/celebrate" excuse repeated to multiple people. Harry had a stack of gifts, clothes and candy and joke items. Bertrand and Snape had both gotten him books, but Harry seemed interested so Vlad was happy.

Catching sight of Ingrid in a rare moment alone, he spotted her rubbing her jaw - she carried tension there and that usually meant she was stressed. He recognised the slightly crushed flicker of pain in her eyes, looking around for Who on earth Ingrid could have 'found'. Nobody seemed to be acting out of the ordinary, most were eating or drinking and Bertrand and Snape were sat talking quietly in a corner, eyes scanning the room occasionally but mostly giving each other almost soft, gooey looks. Though Vlad was looking, nobody else really was.

If he had to guess, Ingrid had found her mate but damned if he could work it out, noone was acting strange except her. Her face cleared after a moment, and she seemed fine when she slipped extra ice in Percy's drink and laughed as he cringed against the icy cold. Harry hadn't stopped smiling for at least an hour, and that was plenty of distraction for Vlad.

-YDHP-

 **Apologies if this is terrible? It's the product of sleep deprivation and energy drinks!**


	3. Vault Secrets

PercyPowerful **\- I love the irony of a review saying NO PERCY from someone with It in their username. No, good garlic no Ingrid and Percy? How bored would she be? Percy is mostly a side character, there because it was Harry's birthday and the summer holidays - all the family there and he's thankful they saved Ginny? I won't give any more away, but you can all rest assured it isn't Percy. If you think you worked it out and want to know because you're like me and hate not knowing - inbox me, don't spoil it in the reviews! :P**

 **Enjoy another early update because I CAN'T SLEEP. Been awake about three days straight now.**

-YDHP-

Vlad and Ingrid were put on the same schedule as Harry and Draco - mornings for work, afternoons for whatever. Which is how they ended up with Ingrid looking at the brooms like they would bite her. Vampires were natural fliers, but he was prepared to bet his sister hadn't flown on a broomstick since first year flying lessons. "Come on, we need two on two and those two will never agree to play." Ingrid looked over at the watching couple, then back at her brothers pleading eyes. "Pleaseeee?" Ingrid rolled her eyes, but saddled the broom and Vlad grinned victoriously.

Once she was up in the air, Ingrid visibly relaxed and the natural instinct took over. They paired her with Draco, and Vlad with Harry - experienced player and less so. Though it quickly transpired Harry was a much better seeker than chaser, and Ingrid was much better than Vlad so the Gryffindor two were soundly thrashed. Vlad's attention to detail and Harry's natural skill meant they beat the others with the teleporting snitch - it counted the catch, then vanished and reappeared in another spot.

"You two are good, why don't you play?" "Because you couldn't pay a Dracula to go flying in the rain." Ingrid scowled at the very idea, disappearing to bathe and change before dinner. Vlad followed suit, showering and dressing in his own clothes instead of the smarter attire. "Don't forget to dress smart for tomorrow, we're going to Gringotts to start sorting my vaults." Draco was clearly nervous, this had to be done before September, so he was totally free of his mother or their magical contract would be void.

"We know. You have the info on her vault to make sure it all goes to the right place?" Draco nodded, pulling out the letter the Gringotts goblins had sent him. "Yeah, and the time and goblin to ask for when we turn up. You have to behave Bertrand, goblins don't like vampires." Vlad and Ingrid shared a look - Draco didn't know they were vampires, but the goblins did. "We should pick up our allowance while we're there, beat the rush for back to school. We can't go shopping, our letters aren't here yet."

Draco tapped his fingers against the table as Vlad and Ingrid agreed on that, looking at them. "If we get your measurements and stuff done while we are in Diagon Alley tomorrow, I'll pay for your robes and stuff. I've officially inherited more gold than I can spend in four lifetimes, and that's not including the ridiculous amount of priceless heirlooms and who knows what else I have." Ingrid agreed automatically, and Vlad just shrugged - he didn't know how to turn him down politely so said nothing. "Harry, don't argue or I'll make Severus adopt you too." Harry fell silent and resumed eating his steak and potatoes - Vlad knew it was Harry's favourite food.

"Has there been any issues? Attempts to look for Harry or reports of him being missing?" "Nothing. And I've been checking, it's one of the reasons I didn't cancel the Malfoy subscription to the Daily Prophet." That settled that, and after a quiet evening with hot chocolate (Vlad absolutely didn't love the way Harry smiled with cream along his upper lip and smudged on his nose), the teens retired to bed as they had an early start for Gringotts.

Vlad woke early, took a long, hot shower and dressed in a deep blue shirt and black trousers. Making a mental note to pick up new shoes as he was outgrowing his current ones, Vlad made sure he had his wand, vault information and that Phantoms food and toys were out. The familiar in question was still snoozing on his pillow, mewling happily when Vlad stroked her fluffy head and licking his hand. "You behave yourself today, no harassing the house elves or sneaking into Draco's room to get fur on his bed." While Vlad was fairly certain she understood him, he wasn't entirely sure she actually listened to him telling her to behave.

As he went to head downstairs, he turned back and saw she was back to sleeping, tail curled around her body. Smiling fondly, Vlad made his way down to the dining room. Bertrand was the only one awake, perusing the morning paper. "Anything exciting happened since last night?" Expecting a short or sarcastic reply, his tutors response surprised him. "Depends on your angle. Escaped serial killer?" Taking the paper from his outstretched hand, Vlad flipped the fold open and saw the face of a haggard, slightly crazed man silently screaming from the photo. "Sirius Black. Said to be extremely dangerous, first ever to escape from Azkaban Prison. Black... Black... I know that name from somewhere. Wasn't Draco's mother originally Narcissa Black?"

"He's her cousin. Did I hear right, escaped from Azkaban?" Draco had appeared now, so Vlad held out the paper to his friend. "Merlin, I didn't even think it was possible. Come with me." Vlad and Bertrand followed Draco through one of the bigger reception rooms, to a small room decorated with tapestries. "The family tapestry. Here's me, then it goes up to my parents. Follow the Black line up, across and then down, you have Sirius Black. His morher burned him off their tapestry, and both my mother and her mother burned Andromeda off." Draco pointed out the blackened smudge, which was linked to a man called 'Ted Tonks', a thread stemming off the two saying 'Nymphadora Tonks' - their daughter.

"Why burn her off?" It sounded a little extreme. "She married a Muggle born. An absolute abomination to the long and noble house of Black, who are and were pureblood supremacists through and through. By the age of sixteen at the latest, my parents would have arranged a marriage to some witch with at least three generations of Pure blood behind her." Intimately familiar with the concept of marrying who a parent chose, rather than by choice himself (his father was already hinting about Ingrid being married off straight out of Hogwarts), Vlad shuddered.

"And this one is?" There was a third Black sister, Bellatrix Black, thread linking her to a man called Rodolphus Lestrange. "My clinically insane, psychotic aunt. She and her husband, like my father, were absolutely loyal Death Eaters when You Know Who was in power. They are in Azkaban now, locked up for life for frequent and indiscriminate use of unforgivable curses." Vlad could tell the blond boy knew more about that, but perhaps it wasn't his secret to tell.

"Some of these marriages are pretty uh... close." Vlad wasn't sure how to bring up the people twined to two names - parent and marriage - with matching surnames. "There aren't a great deal of completely Pureblood families anymore, I'm probably related to every other pureblood student in some way. Most have been smart enough to avoid constantly marrying cousins, but there really aren't many options left. Their parents were cousins" Draco indicated the Black sisters "and their grandparents second cousins. My parents were third cousins once removed. Or something. Inbreeding is becoming a problem - you've met Crabbe and Goyle." Vlad thought he had seen the dark side of the magical world, but this was another faucet of it altogether.

"Well, you turned out alright and I don't see Professor Snape marrying you to Nymphadora here. You don't have any other cousins in this generation, so I guess you're safe." Draco nodded, and they both saw Bertrand following the tapestries back to further back generations.

"Very very very distantly, you descended from Salazar Slytherins sister, Sorrow. Cheery name." The tutor pointed it out, magic clearly having been used to preserve the material as the stitching was faded but legible. "Sorrow Slytherin. One daughter. Died young." They all turned as another voice joined them, informing them "she was murdered by her brother Salazar. She loved a Muggle man, and he could not abide it. History isn't sure if he got to the daughter, she essentially disappeared. Half blood Slytherins are a rare thing indeed, like myself." The potions master had clearly followed their voices to the tapestry room.

"Wow. Salazar Slytherins line isn't on here, but then I suppose it wouldn't be. Does anyone even know the space between him and Riddle?" Draco was not privy to Harry being Voldemort's grandson, so Vlad didn't speak it. "Unlikely. I'm not even sure who his mother and father were, Riddle isn't a wizarding name." Realising they were at risk of losing the entire morning to this conversation, they headed out for breakfast - under the confused looks of Harry and Ingrid, who hadn't tracked them down to the tapestry room. "We'll explain later, eat and then we should get going."

After a hurried breakfast, and the usual plastering of Bertrand with enough sunprotection for half of Hogwarts, the six were gathered around a timed portkey, though this one wasn't Vlads, it was made by Draco's lawyers as part of his arranged meeting with the goblins. "It's only eight thirty, I don't even acknowledge this time when it's not a school day." Ingrid glared at the world as a whole, reaching out a polished finger to touch the large metal ring. The six were jerked through the air, landing outside Gringotts bank. "Wow, I've never seen this place so empty." Diagon Alley was a bustling, busy street all the time, but aside from shopkeepers setting up displays and a couple of sleepy looking witches window shopping, the street was deserted.

Gringotts, on the other hand, was all but humming with activity as goblins hurried about the place. Instantly, Vlad could see the creatures notice Bertrand, eyeing the vampire suspiciously under the glass, sunlit ceiling. His tutor gave away no discomfort, following Draco to the head goblins desk. "Draco Malfoy, here to see Griphook. These five are with me, and will be afforded the same courtesy as I." The wizened old creature eyed the group, leant down to another goblin, whispered hurriedly and then smiled in an entirely unnerving way. "Please follow Grasper." A much younger looking goblin rounded the desk, clearly new to his job as he led them through to what Vlad expected were private rooms.

* * *

"Ah, young mister Malfoy. Professor Snape. And of course, Harry Potter!" Harry resisted the urge to squirm under the sharp scrutiny, but only just. "They've come to help me work through my vaults, the sooner this is all over for me the better. I trust my new, solely my own to control vaults have been arranged?" It was easy to forget Draco had been raised to speak properly, like a member of high society when he had finally started to relax with his friends after much work. Having never had anything resembling etiquette taught to him, Harry simply watched in awe.

"Of course Mister Malfoy. As I believe those two are Mr and Miss Dracula, would you like me to have Grasper deal with their accounts whilst we make the trip?" Vlad and Ingrid agreed, as they had to get it transferred through something to do with their grandmother, so didn't have to make the trip to a vault. "And Mr Potter?" Stammering slightly as he was suddenly addressed, Harry agreed to the trip to his vault first so they could dedicate a decent amount of time to Draco's stuff after.

They all stood a little awkwardly while Draco wrote out a list of 'other requests', which only Severus was allowed to see but then Harry didn't have any need to know the inner workings of his friends finances - he wouldn't know what to do with the information anyway. That didn't stop his interest being piqued by Griphook mumbling "these are unsual requests Master Malfoy. Consider it done before you leave."

Having never had cause to go by Gringotts cart before, Harry couldn't help but laugh at the three vampires faces when they first disembarked the cart. "What just happened? I think I left my stomach somewhere near the top." Vlad groaned, bending with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. Even Bertrand looked a little green, and he was the one able to travel at immense speed all by himself. It was unpleasant, but Harry had done it before and didn't find it nearly as disorienting as he had previously. If anything, the rush of cold wind on his face was most welcome, as even early in the day, August sunshine had him feeling too warm.

"Your vault Mr Potter." Harry hurried to fill his money pouch, which Vlad and his ever present backpack had remembered. Securing the ties, he placed it back in the bag and they climbed back in, complete with complaints from the vampires. As they clambered out again, Vlad actually had to stop for water, which suited Griphook fine as he handed them all some metal contraptions that made a tinny, painful ringing sound. "And these are for what? Bashing in potential thieves heads?" Ingrid held hers up in distaste. "You'll see." The goblin smirked, showing his pointed teeth as they stepped around the curve of a wall of rock.

"Is that a dragon?" A shackled, enormous winged reptile stood there, shrinking back as the ringing metal sound reached it's ears. As they got closer, Harry could see deep scars along it's snout, and the dragon looked terrified, trying to back away. "Its been trained to expect pain when it heard the noise." Harry and Vlad both dropped their clanging metal implements instantly, twin looks of horror. "That's barbaric!" The goblin looked unconcerned, and Harry found himself walking over to the dragon. Vlad tried to tug him away, and the others were clearly torn between watching in fascination and telling Harry he was insane.

The dragon sniffed hesitantly, still making pained sounds and trying to hide behind it's wing. "Guys, cut the noise!" The four others and Griphook hid behind a thick stone pillar, peering around - Bertrand could pull Harry out of the way in time if he had to, but Harry didn't feel concerned. Samael was easily twice the size of this dragon. Looking up at the scarred face, he tried speaking reassuringly to the dragon, keeping his voice even as the dragon sniffed again, peering around. It was then Harry realised the dragon probably couldn't see him, it's eyes milky white. As he spoke, the dragon visibly relaxed, the front claws slowly moving the body around to face him. Vlad's eyes were wide, flicking between Harry and the dragon.

Eventually, the dragon reached it's head out, sniffing at Harry closely. Waiting with bated breath, he wasn't immediately eaten. Holding out a tentative hand, Harry kept talking quietly and rested his fingers next to one of the scars, rubbing in what he hoped was a soothing way. The dragon shuffled closer, letting Harry continue rubbing the scales towards it's eyes. Vlad edged his way next to Harry, keeping his movements soft and slow so as not to spook the huge reptile, then leaned in close to Harry. "You're speaking Parseltongue to the dragon, and I think it understands you." Eyes widening, Harry watched as Vlad reached a hand to the huge snout, rubbing gently too and neither of them were roasted alive.

"We won't hurt you, but can you maybe not burn us alive while we check out this vault?" Feeling a little daft, the dragon actually backed up, curling a spined tail around and folding their wings in. "Wow. Lets move before it changes it's mind." Harry nodded to Vlad, continuing to speak softly to the dragon until they were both safely behind the stone pillar. "Are. You. Insane?" Draco stared at the two of them, and Harry hoped they were far enough away that Griphook hadn't heard him hissing.

"Generally, yes. I just couldn't watch the dragon look so terrified! Don't try that at home kids, now shall we get on with the vault?" Resolving to explain when they were safely alone so the others didn't think they could talk a dragon down themselves, Harry watched as Griphook guided Draco to press his hand to a small, glinting piece of metal - a needle. Draco sucked the finger into his mouth, and Ingrid hastened to heal it when they noticed Bertrand automatically fixing eyes on the tiny cut. The vampire wasn't dangerous, Harry was sure. It was probably just instinctual.

"Merlins pants, this is huge!" Draco's vault made Harry's look like a shoebox in comparison to a warehouse. "This is only one of them. There's a dozen Malfoy Vaults, not including Draco or Narcissa's newly created ones. Only one of which has it's entire monetary contents promised to Mrs Malfoy." Griphook was agreeable enough to standing outside, giving them relative freedom inside the cavernous stone room. Piles upon piles of gold filled one corner, stacks of paintings lined a wall. There was vases made of clear crystal and set with precious stones, a whole pile of just loose gemstones. "Everyone stay still for a minute?"

Vlad was holding up a hand, his face scrunched in concentration. Everyone froze, looking at him for a minute. "Can you feel that?" The question was aimed mostly at Ingrid, who shared Vlad's trait of unique senses, but Harry tried to feel it too - whatever it was. Ingrid nodded after a minute, joining Vlad in trying to find out what was causing them to feel something. Harry could feel something too, a sort of ticking, pulsing sound tingling over his skin. Letting it lead him, he ended up in front of a box overflowing with necklaces. Pearls, gold, silver, it was endless. "Don't touch that!" Harry's hand stopped at Draco's warning, and he was handed gloves.

"Malfoys and Blacks both like to curse jewellery if anyone not a Malfoy dares touch it." Understanding dawned, and Harry slid on the dragonskin gloves, following the strange sense of... something, eventually pulling out a locket that was all but calling to something inside him. It was large, oval and ornate, set with emeralds at the top of an S shape created by a snake emblem. "Is this what you're feeling guys?" Harry held up the locket, and both Draculas nodded. They paid Draco's warning no heed, but then for all Harry knew vampires wouldn't be hurt by the curse. Or that wasn't cursed. Draco had only said it was possible really.

"S. Snake. Emeralds. Creepy. Our old friend Salazar Slytherin you reckon?" Vlad coiled the chain around his wrist, trying to open the locket but it was apparently stuck fast. "Alohamora!" The unlocking charm made absolutely no difference, and Bertrand was next to look at it, also not bothering with gloves. "It feels like it has a timer, or perhaps a beating rhythm inside it." Harry thought that too, and after knowing him for a while he was no longer surprised by Bertrand sniffing things.

"It smells like that diary. Soul magic. So nobody grow emotionally attached to this." Vlad pulled an empty pouch from his bag, which the locket went into before being stored in a side pocket of his backpack. "We'll look at that later, lets sort this vault out." Draco didn't seem to want much from in the vault, magic being the way they moved the pile of gold into a magically expanded trunk to be deposited in a different vault. "Anyone want anything before I sign off this one?" Severus took a small selection of the jewels and stones pile for potion ingredients, and Bertrand took a shine to an old French painting in the Art stacks, which Draco insisted he take.

The dragon was still complacent, sniffing the air and snuffling smoke occasionally, but didn't move as they exited the vault. "Consider this one free to transfer to my mother. We have time to look at another one or two before we have other business to attend to. With any luck, this will all be over within a week." Nobody was happy to get back in the cart, except perhaps Harry who wasn't all that phased. The next vault didn't have a dragon guarding it, which Harry was glad for. "How much pottery and paintings can one family need?" This vault was done with fairly quickly too, no mysterious pulsing necklaces to slow them down.

The third vault was a little more time consuming, as it contained books which meant Vlad, Bertrand and Severus were all over them. "Uncle Severus, can't you use the spell to separate them by subject? I'm hungry!" Draco grew bored watching the three pore over ancient tomes, complaining to hurry them along while Ingrid was admiring some old brooches. "Take them if you want Ingrid, they'll only end up gathering dust in my mothers vault otherwise. Just make sure you check them thoroughly for curses before you wear them." They too, ended up in Vlad's backpack, and once the books were organised very few actually got left behind. Draco signed to say those three were searched and done with, one exceptionally heavy trunk being instructed to be seperated between three of Draco's newly set up vaults.

After one more neck-breaking, exhilarating ride and a top up of Bertrands sun spells, Draco signed some more parchments, took a wrapped pile of something or other and agreed to "same time tomorrow", which Vlad and Bertrand groaned audibly at. Somehow still having an appetite, Draco insisted they retire to a side room in the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Enjoying the thick, meaty burger while Vlad and Draco both sedately ate sandwiches, Harry swallowed and enquired where they were going next. "Madam Malkins, to get measurements done. I need to abandon the vampire to go buy some stuff for the Malfoy owls... And we could probably pick up our Potions kit top ups, since we have the man who sets the needed supplies himself. Then we should get back and look at that necklace."

Harry watched as Vlad requested Draco place his order for Phantoms food, then grew irritated when Draco wouldn't take his money for it. Chuckling to himself as he finished his pumpkin juice, Harry followed them to Madam Malkins, hearing multiple people talking in hushed times about "Sirius Black" and occasionally hearing his name too. That tended to happen though, so he didn't think anything of it and stood obediently while a tape measure took his measurements, all the while not being held. "So, you three boys are Gryffindors, and Miss Dracula is a Slytherin yes?" They agreed, and Vlad ordered new shoes to arrive when the robes did as his current ones were too small.

Severus had been relatively quiet for the second half of the trip, and Harry was starting to suspect the man was holding on to some kind of secret knowledge, but then he wasn't exactly a social butterfly so the man may just have nothing to say. They got back to Malfoy Manor, each went to change out of their formal attire and in Draco's case, relieve himself of his shopping. Comfortable back in t-shirt and jeans, Harry splashed cold water on his warm face and asked how the others felt after the cart ride. "Eat slugs Potter!" Ingrid glared, then resumed drinking her iced tea. Vlad merely groaned and closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Remind me to ask the resident Potions master for something for nausea. Because that was unpleasant."

Phantom was curled up around Harry's shoulder at the minute, Lily wrapped snugly around his wrist and forearm as he went down to join in the investigating of the locket. Vlad had barely pulled it out of the bag it had been placed into before Phantom was hissing, eyes flashing greener than Harry's and she made generally unhappy sounds in its direction. "Lily, any strong feelings?" The snake slithered out onto the table, spending a minute investigating the necklace for herself. "Apologies if this offends wizard" it was said sarcastically, Lily didn't generally apologise for anything "but it smells a little like you. Other than that, I can only say it contains old, dark magic." Removing his familiar and placing her and Phantom in a patch of sunlit window space, Harry watched as Severus cast a few spells on it, which revealed very little to Harry's eyes.

Vlad and Ingrid mostly just stared at it, tilting their heads and sort of squinting. "It just feels... Wrong. More so than that diary did when I first held it. What do you think Ingrid?" Ingrid was the one to try their strange magic on it, levitating it off the table but dropping it heavily. "Yeah, it doesn't respond normally to magic either."

Taking the locket outside, they then tried to damage it. Bertrand fireballed it, Severus cursed it, and Vlad and Ingrid tried a whole array of different things. Nothing so much as scratched it, the grayish silver pendant lying on the ground like they weren't trying to crack it open. "I have an inkling, but I would like to do more research on this. For now, I suggest we leave this well alone after what happened to Miss Weasley, in case it's a similar type of magic."

Harry agreed with Bertrand, and the pendant was locked in a safebox that had every protective ward Vlad, Ingrid and Severus could throw at it. Draco looked down at the warded box, which even Harry could see was shimmering with the magic all around it. "What in the name of magic is it? And what was it doing in my fathers vaults?" Having no answer, Harry shrugged at his friend and looked over at the locket again. What could Lily have meant, it smelled like him a little? And Phantom responded to it with green eyes, which if Harry racked his brains right, meant dark magic.

-YDHP-

 **Known for our terrible wet grey weather, did you know it gets light before 4am in England in summer?**


	4. Celebrating Changes

**PercyPowerful - I always try to answer reviews, Because I appreciate every single person who takes the time to write one for me! Don't forget, even in Canon with JKR they experience a horcrux early on because Tom Riddles diary. And regarding character deaths... I will never confirm or deny, because that's all part of the fun!**

 **TheSchimmer - thank you! I'm so glad you enjoy Chosen Two so much!**

 **I would like to say get used to this more frequent upload schedule, but I'm not mentally stable enough to promise that. For now, enjoy?**

-YDHP-

They were mostly quiet over dinner, and agreed to another early night - they had more Gringotts trips to do. Vlad indulged in the enormous bath, enjoying the green bubbles most of all until he realised why - they reminded him of Harry's eyes, and that was just a little too obsessive even for him. All but vanishing the bath in his haste to get away from it then, Vlad pulled on pyjamas and lay in his bed, staring up at the canopy. He was supposed to be getting a hold on these feelings, and they only seemed to be growing stronger. Phantom crawled up to his face, nuzzling his jaw and curling up on his chest with a paw resting over his heart, clear eyes focused on his.

"What am I going to do furball? This isn't going to go away." He nearly leapt out of his skin when the door knocked, sitting up carefully and waving his hand to open the door. Harry's face peered around the wood, Lily wrapped around his wrist as he stepped in. "Everything alright Harry?" The wizard shrugged, pushing Vlad's door closed behind him and sitting on Vlad's desk chair. Waiting for Harry to explain why he had come ghosting into Vlad's room, he stroked Phantom absent mindedly.

"I... I don't know. I feel like I don't know who I am anymore. After everything that happened this year, with Samael and finding out about Voldemort being my grandfather somehow... It's a lot to take in and I think these changes are beginning." Harry went straight into it once he found his voice, not even seeming to notice Lily slither down his leg and up to Vlad's bed. At a loss as to how to answer immediately, Vlad quietly called "Dobby" and asked the elf to bring them tea. Harry gravitated towards the bed then, sitting down at the end and sipping at the hot brew.

"What changes do you mean? There's nothing obvious." And Vlad would notice first, given how much time he spent looking at Harry. Harry finished his tea and placed the cup down before he said anything else, rolling up his sleeve to show the scar on his arm. It didn't seem any different, but Harry placed Vlad's hand over it. "Cold, right?" Vlad nodded, it still felt scaly but it also felt ice cold to the touch, though he still felt Harry's heated skin under the rest of his hand and swallowed thickly. "I thought nothing of it for a while because it's summer, but I feel too hot all the time, I actually enjoyed the cart rides at Gringotts because there was so much cold air."

Vlad racked his brain, searching for a cooling charm and casting it on Harry, who visibly relaxed. "If the changes are gearing you towards... snake like, then maybe you're just a little more cold blooded. I'm going to be the temperature of a corpse in under three years, I won't judge you." Harry snorted, and Vlad fought to keep the "so we'll feel the same" comment behind the filter between brain and mouth - Harry didn't need freaking out like that. "If you're ever in need of a cooling charm, let me know. Just keep an eye on it, you may end up needing warming charms in winter." Harry nodded, running a hand through his scruffy hair, making Vlad's hands itch to follow their path.

"I don't know where to start, with the other thing. My entire family is dead, I don't see aunt Petunia having answers on Voldemort fathering her sister and I can't ask my mother, or her mother. I don't even know their names, other than the last name Evans." Vlad pondered that, then remembered the bloodline list Bertrand had made - Harry must have been really thrown by the grandfather part to have missed that. Holding out a hand to summon his backpack, Vlad was glad he had thought to organise everything into folders, boxes or bags. "Your fathers parents were Aaron and Victoria Potter. Your mothers parents were Christopher and Rose Evans. Explains Lily and Petunia, girls and flowers."

Harry looked surprised, then understanding dawned as Vlad handed over the parchment. "They died before she was even pregnant with me. Both sides of my family died young." Harry's voice was hollow, making Vlad ache with sadness and an urge to do anything to alleviate the pain in his eyes. Levitating the tea tray over to the desk, he carefully shifted closer and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders. It was a trigger, and Harry broke down in tears, clutching Vlad tightly as he cried.

"I don't want to be related to him." Any hope there had been a mix up somewhere had been quashed when Samael responded to Harry down in the chamber, so Vlad could only try to help Harry come to terms with it. Because clearly, he hadn't yet. "I know, but you are so much more than him." Letting Harry cry it out against him, the sobs slowly quieted and Harry's breathing evened out until Vlad realised his mate was asleep. And surprisingly strong, Vlad couldn't prise off the iron grip around his chest. Not that he really wanted to, but at least he had tried.

Laying back down carefully, Vlad was sure this was all sorts of a bad idea, but one night when Harry had come to him didn't make him a bad friend, right? Phantom and Lily were both curled up together at the end of the bed, but both had eyes on Vlad with Harry wrapped around him like an octopus. He was absolutely certain they knew what Vlad felt, and desperately hoped the protection stretched to magical familiars - nobody but Vlad could tell Harry they were mates. Oh, he had no doubt Harry could work it out if he had a clue about mates, and that others could too. But nobody could tell Harry, and he hoped that counted with Lily or Samael too. Phantom obviously couldn't tell Harry - only Lily understood the fluffy nightmare.

Falling asleep almost unbelievably fast, he had never slept as well as he had with Harry's arms wrapped around him. "I'm in so much trouble here" he mused to himself, trying to think of an adequate thing to say before he shook Harry awake. He was no closer to an excuse before Harry was stirring, looking at Vlad in confusion and pushing himself upright. "This isn't my room." Stomach flipping slightly at how cute his mate was half asleep, Vlad nodded. "You are correct. You came in to talk last night, remember? And kind of... cried yourself to sleep. Even unconscious, you're surprisingly strong so I just went to sleep."

Harry didn't sense anything really amiss with that, stumbling out of Vlad's room blearily. Lily hissed as he left, but Vlad was sure the two would be reunited quickly. He needed to shower and change, as Bertrand would be able to smell Harry on him, and it was a moment he wanted to keep to himself - for Harry's privacy as much as his own. Putting food and water down for Phantom, he pulled out a shirt and trousers, rinsing Harry's scent off his skin and feeling colder, lonelier. Drying off magically and dressing quickly, Vlad made sure his backpack was as well stocked as ever, made a mental note to request anti-nausea potions from Snape and scooped up the two familiars, heading downstairs.

The Potions professor was one step ahead of him, placing potion vials in front of Vlad, Ingrid and Bertrand. "I am not so affected, and apparently neither is Mr Potter. They should last until lunch, I have more for future trips if you continue to suffer adverse effects from the Gringotts carts." Drinking it down gratefully, it tasted horrendous but washed away easily enough with pumpkin juice and porridge. Harry looked relieved to find Lily looped around the back of his usual dining chair, hissing in greeting and eyeing Vlad oddly for a second. Hoping his eyes said "I didn't tell anyone you slept in my bed", Vlad kept his eyes on the table until they were ready to reach for the timed portkey again.

The potions definitely helped, as all three vampires were visibly less winded by the hurtling carts and breakneck speeds, and they cleared two more vaults with very little work. "This one can go to my vaults, I'm quite fond of most of these paintings and sculptures. I may decide to redecorate Malfoy Manor. The other vault is full of gaudy, tacky nonsense. My mother should enjoy it." Snorting into his hand at the way Draco maintained a straight face as he said that - he took the gold for himself from every vault so far, there was one automatically assigned to Narcissa, plus her allowance for being the Malfoy wife - Draco had no say in that, any more than she could stop his inheritance and it didn't really make a dent in the obscene fortune he now controlled.

* * *

The next vault they visited had a dragon guard, and Harry refused point blank to even pick up the clanger, and Vlad followed his lead. This dragon didn't even blow flames at them, sniffing the air and if Harry had to put words to it, he would say this dragon recognised him. Perhaps they could hear each other, communicate in these deep caverns. Hissing quietly at the dragon, it relaxed further under the soothing sounds. "That's so cool, that they seem to understand you." Vlad was watching, wide eyed and awestruck and not treating Harry any differently for them having slept in the same bed, Harry clinging to his vampire friend even in slumber and with the growing suspicion Vlad was gay, since he had never so much as looked at a girl.

Shaking away the memory - if Vlad could push it aside, so could he - Harry hissed out thanks at the dragon, and followed the others into the next vault. "Ok, I'm starting to think we could fit Hogwarts into some of your vaults." The vault was enormous, high up and lined with literally dozens of bookcases. "We are not going through every book, either shrink the bookcases down or use the organising spell to separate them." Vlad actually sulked at Draco, but Vlad and Severus shrunk down the bookcases and stacked them carefully in a trunk. The other items were mostly jewellery, vintage clothes and priceless antique boxes, all of which Draco signed over to his mother.

Still enjoying the rush of cold air, he could feel the sun prickling heat along his skin when they stepped into the main reception room of Gringotts - in spite of the air conditioning spells Harry could feel blowing past them slowly. They stopped for lunch, and then the two adults surprised the four teens. "You four may amuse yourselves, Severus and I are going to investigate the more... fringe shops for some research material." "Knockturn Alley, you mean?" The two nodded, all of them keeping their voices down.

"A vampire and a Slytherin. Suppose they won't really question you being down there. How long?" Draco conversed with his godfather, agreeing to meet back outside the Leaky Cauldron in two hours time. "Oh, that reminds me. These are yours, and if you argue I have to fill in more paperwork. So deal with it." Everyone looked at Draco oddly, when he produced vault information in each persons name - Severus was unsurprised, and Bertrand had clearly been pre warned by his partner. Harry and Vlad stared at their new vaults, shaking their head at the blond boy. "You've literally seen my ridiculous amount of gold, and we are a) only half way through and b) not counting the business investments. I wouldn't have made it through this year without you guys, so just let me do something back. Plus, it means we can go shopping while they go doing evil stuff."

His godfather glared at Draco, but the blond boy shrugged and smiled. His grin widened when Ingrid kissed him on the cheek, pale skin flushing and Harry just knew the other boys in the dorm would hear about this. "Don't get too excited, she will still hex you all the same if you try and touch her." Vlad chuckled at Draco's flushing face - they both knew in spite of his typical boys response to Ingrid, it wasn't her the boy had his eye on. Draco hadn't said it, but there were few secrets in the Gryffindor boys dorm.

"So, where shall we go?" Vlad prompted when they headed back out, noticing Harry's discomfort and waving a silent cooling charm over him. Gratefully smiling, Harry shrugged and noticed Ingrid was rather quiet. "We should probably go get some new clothes, so Harry can ditch the stuff that doesn't fit him and I'm outgrowing my casual jeans." Luckily, Draco knew where they could go for more casual attire in Diagon Alley. Ingrid instantly migrated over to everything black, though she picked out a deep, navy/midnight coat that admittedly suited her pale skin and blue eyes well.

Harry stuck with plain t-shirts, jeans and casual trousers for Hogwarts, constantly encouraged by Draco to actually use the frankly ridiculous amount of money he had given them each. Vlad fought more jumpers than anyone reasonably should own, and a couple of shirts in a shade of blue that brought his eyes out brilliantly, surprising Harry somewhat for noticing. Ingrid had similar colouring, so it was a similar comparison he supposed. "You should buy more green, you may not be a snake" Draco's words made him shudder inwardly "but it suits you." Vlad nodded his agreement, laughing when Draco picked out a t-shirt with a Slytherin emblem on.

"No thank you. I've picked out a green shirt, and a couple of t-shirts with green on. Now stop harassing me, clothes shopping is awkward." Shooing Draco away, they each paid for their stuff and the shop worker offered them shrinking charms, allowing everyone to pocket their purchases. "Still got an hour, lets hit Quality Quidditch Supplies. I want to check out the new Firebolt!" Vlad and Ingrid both rolled their eyes, but reluctantly followed the excitable Quidditch players. "Damn, this is a nice broom. Can I justify it when I'm not on the team yet?" Harry shrugged - he had no place to tell Draco he could or couldn't.

He could gently encourage his friend though. "Treat yourself, celebrate. You'll make the reserve Chaser on that broom alone." Draco wavered for a couple of minutes, then ended up going to purchase it regardless. Harry picked up a jar of broomstick polish, because he loved his Nimbus 2000 but it could do with some love. He caught Vlad looking at the Quidditch books, picking out one on the charms that went into the sport - flying charms on the brooms, the speed behind a snitch. That's what he told Harry was in it anyway - Harry was more interested in the playing than the way it worked mostly, because flying was amazing and exhilarating, and he was damn good at it.

"I need new scales, using them for potions and healing takes its toll." That was the most Ingrid had spoken to them in hours, though he had seen her talk to her brother. "I better get a new set then, keep one for Healing and one for Potions." Vlad ate up their remaining time in the store that sold things like telescopes and star charts, picking up a lunar calendar "because it looks cool" and the teens just about made the deadline time to meet their teachers/responsible adults.

"Apothecary, then back." Severus spoke shortly, leading the teens to the apothecary - helping Draco and Vlad fill their kits for Potions, Harry and Ingrid for Healing and choosing out several things for himself. Before they could even think about it, Severus was reprimanding them. "Do not magically shrink potion kits, it's bad for the ingredients." Vlad let everyone load their things into his bag, pretending to groan under the weight as though it wasn't charmed to be light. They got back to the Manor soon after, unloading potions gear and going to put their clothes away while the adults did... actually, Harry had no idea. Probably to do with the weird locket.

Vlad and Ingrid were nowhere to be seen when Harry was done hanging up his new clothes, Draco no more in the know until they tracked the Dracula siblings down to the library. "What are you doing?" Vlad looked up from the pile he was working on. "Organising that mammoth trunk of books. That trunk is for double copies, which there's quite a few of." Ingrid was organising them alphabetically, periodically casting the charm to reshuffle them as more were added.

"We'll organise them by subject and whether or not they are useful or illegal later. For now it's just making it a more manageable amount." Harry and Draco sat down to help, since they had little else to do until dinner and the grown ups were busy. The two looked surprised to find the four on the floor of the library, surrounded by books possibly even older than Bertrand. "A lot of these copies are valuable, I'll donate some to Hogwarts and sell the rest. Aside from the ones that shouldn't be found in my possession." Harry had a lightbulb moment for that.

"When the Weasleys come back, hand them over to Mr Weasley. He'll trust my judgement on you if nothing else, and he can get them dealt with at the ministry." Draco nodded at the idea, separating the donate, sell and dispose piles before a house elf appeared to call them for dinner. "We'll finish after dinner, leave the library as is Wink." "Yes Master Draco!" They did resume sorting after dinner, making a decent dent in the trunk and agreeing to finish tomorrow.

Laying in his bed, Harry was still surprised he had gone to Vlad in the night, but Vlad didn't seem to be holding it against him. Nor had he judged his friend for breaking down crying, or been offset by the new changes Harry was finding from Samael. Then again, they were best friends. Maybe that was normal for best friends, he had never had friends before Hogwarts.

Another round of nausea potions and clearing vaults later, Harry noticed Vlad and Ingrid conversing quietly out in the gardens while Draco took the chance to test out his new broom. Up in the air, away from eavesdropping range, Harry inclined his head towards the Dracula siblings. "Do you know what's up with Ingrid? She's been real quiet lately." Draco looked over, then shrugged and his broom jerked - the Firebolt was much more sensitive than his old Nimbus. "No, but then she's not exactly known for sharing. Vlad's the only one she opens up to, and even then not always. I don't know, I don't have siblings."

Harry could sympathise, being an only child. "Fair point. Vlad's the only boy in our dorm that isn't an only child isn't he?" Draco cocked his head, thinking. "No, Seamus has a five year old sister. Dean's a Muggle born, my parents only wanted a male heir, and you and Neville were both raised by people other than parents. I kind of see you like the brother I never had though, so there's that." The pale cheeks flushed as he spoke, and Harry carefully flew closer, wrapping an arm around Draco. "I can see that. I'm not calling Snape dad though." Draco shoved at him playfully, his face horrified when Harry pretended to fall off his broom. "Come on, I'm a seeker. I don't fall off unless I want to!"

When they next looked down, Ingrid looked to be comforting Vlad a little. The two disappeared indoors, and Harry realised it was nearing dinner time. The cool air racing past as they flew kept him from overheating, and as evening fell the air was less heated. When he made it to his room, a lukewarm shower later Harry was lay across his bed, hissing to Lily. "You feel more like me wizard, cooler skin and lower heart rate." It wasn't just his imagination them. "Yeah, I thought that too. The scar on my arm is coldest of all." Lily slithered along to the scar in question, wrapping around the widest part of his forearm, tongue flicking out to the ridged skin.

"I agree. The skin here tastes more snake like too. Scaly, like me." Harry wasn't about to lick Lily, then the scar to check so he took her word for that. "I'm changing Lily, and I don't know what I'm turning in to. What if this brings out a darkness I inherited from... him?" Lily slithered to his chest, cooling around herself to look at Harry with her surprisingly bright, inquisitive eyes. "You are not dark wizard, I can sense darkness. You are unique, but that would always be true even without Samael. If you don't trust yourself, trust me. We are bonded, I chose you."

Stroking the bright green scales, Harry smiled. "Thanks Lily. I'm glad you chose me."

-YDHP-

 **Should only be one more chapter before back to Hogwarts, but lots happened so hopefully you don't feel it's too dragged out?**


	5. Secret Questions

**I'm kind of amusing myself talking about how warm it is in summer for our boys, because if like me you're British, you'll know we are currently having thunderstorms instead of sunshine.**

 **Also, as a side note - I was chatting to one of the readers about this story, and he asked why the basilisk venom thing is a slow process. If you too, are wondering that, in the first draft of that Chamber chapter, it was supposed to do something immediately, but when I was reading up on the HP Wikia about them, there was something about it having long lasting effects if you don't die from the bite. And that inspired me to string it out more. (i love when people inbox me on here, almost as much as I love reviews!)**

-YDHP-

"Last three vaults. Then you can sever ties to your mother completely, all legal obligations fulfilled." Draco nodded up at his godfather, chewing on some scrambled eggs. Vlad was still on edge, his skin still highly aware Harry had been wrapped around him before, but his mind full of Harry smiling and wrapping his arm around a blushing Draco.

Harry not being gay would be one thing, but Vlad wasn't sure he would ever be able to cope if Harry did date guys but just wouldn't look at Vlad. It was unfair of him, he knew that, but the mating instincts didn't care about fair. Ingrid had admitted she had felt 'the pull' - the feeling they got when they realised. She wouldn't tell him who, and he wouldn't push her. It could be anyone really, the call didn't always start the first time they met their mate - it had taken over a year for his instincts toward Harry to awaken, and even then he was pretty young for it to happen.

Hermione had written in their linked journal the previous night, and Vlad had got Harry to send Hedwig with the portkey to Malfoy Manor to her home - they would be back from the first vacation the following day (they had visited her grandparents, but they were going to France in a couple of weeks), and she wanted to visit. He had written all the instructions in their journal, so even were the letter intercepted, nobody would know what it was for and how the portkey would work. That may have been paranoid of him, but the portkey was illegal and Vlad's powers not public knowledge, so both should be treated with care.

"Everyone ready?" Snape stood, holding the timed portkey while Bertrand was prepared for the sunshine and the vampires took their nausea potions. "Yeah, lets go." This would be their last trip to Diagon Alley until their Hogwarts letters arrived, though Vlad and Ingrid still had a couple of days at Malfoy Manor afterwards before they had to head back to Stokely. The first vault was something of a sticking point, full of things that felt like they shouldn't be there. Draco deliberated over it for a while, then agreed to request aurors raid the vault and remove anything dark. That meant they were waiting around for an hour until aurors could make it, and Harry hid out under his invisibility cloak - the goblins didn't care for aurors, and would not likely say anything.

"You realise possessing these items is a crime young Malfoy?" Draco looked concerned, but Snape and Bertrand quickly pointed out Draco didn't own these - his father had, and as soon as he found the items, Draco had reported them. "Take them away, I don't want this stuff attached to my name or my vaults." This meant the aurors insisted on hanging around to see the last two vaults, casting scanning spells all over the place before they were satisfied enough to leave with their pile of items to sort. Bertrand nodded to say they were safe, and Harry reappeared from under his cloak. "Why did I have to hide?" He grumbled from next to a pile of clearly hand crafted mirror frames, which Draco had amused himself at Bertrands lack of reflection in.

"Because while we aren't specifically hiding you, the aurors would want to know why you're here. Easier to get rid of them." Vlad tried to placate his friend, who eventually shrugged and went back to sorting through a pile of leather cases. "Some of these have potions vials in, not that I'm mad enough to open the stoppers." They, like many things, went into Vlad's backpack, cushioning spells layered to ensure they didn't break in there while they finished working. By the time they were done with all three final vaults, it was well past lunch and Ingrid was close to hexing them if they didn't get out soon so she could eat.

Draco happily signed off the last of the paperwork, now solely in control of his own vaults, though as his guardian, Severus Snape would have to sign off on any purchase over a certain amount or of controlled or rare magical items. "You're a free man Draco. Now lets get food before Ingrid kills us and eats us." Draco chuckled, relief clear in the relaxed set of his body. They stopped off at a sweet store in Diagon Alley for a stockpile of junk food, then portkeyed back to Malfoy Manor.

"You may have the afternoon and evening off, but tomorrow morning will be an hour of homework, and two hours potions practice. Miss Granger is not due until the afternoon, yes?" Snape informed them over lunch, leaving them to finish sorting the last of the books after confirming Hermione was due after lunch the next day. Ingrid had to make a decision about continuing with potions after this year - she would transform on her sixteenth birthday, and that was before the end of fifth year for her. It would be for him too, but that was almost three years away for him.

They spent the evening after dinner in Draco's room - he doubted many would believe Ingrid willingly got into a pyjama party with three Gryffindor boys - eating sweets and talking about Sirius Black, and stopping Phantom stealing the cauldron cakes. "So this guy killed thirteen people? And escaped from the inescapable prison?" Draco was the only one raised in the magical world, and so he was the fountain of information on the matter. "Yeah, blew up a street and killed twelve muggles and a wizard. One of his best friends at school." Vlad watched as his friends shoulders tensed, wondering what more there was.

"Who was the friend?" "Peter Pettigrew. He went to school with Black. And..." They were all on tenterhooks as they waited, Vlad's mind making connections as the grey eyes flicked to Harry. "He went to school with your dad too. Was his best man at their wedding. He's... he's technically your godfather." Harry bolted out of the room, and Vlad gave it half a minute before he went after him, but Harry was already coming back. "You got that newspaper?" Draco called an elf to fetch the issue of the Daily Prophet, the one with Blacks face splashed across it.

Harry dropped the photo album Vlad had asked Hagrid to make on the bed, spreading the paper out next to it. "Wow, Azkaban really makes a difference." It wasn't easy, but they could see just about that the hollow, screaming man in the paper was the laughing, handsome wizard stood next to Harry's father in a wedding photo. "What aren't you telling me Draco? There's more." Vlad and Ingrid watched on in amazed silence as Draco's shoulders shook, looking terrified of Harry's reaction.

"He got your parents killed. He was the secret keeper - it's a thing called a Fidelius Charm, where you hide a secret inside a person, so only they can divulge it. It's like binding the secret to your very soul. Sirius Black was the secret keeper for the Potter home, so if You-Know-Who could even see that house, Black gave them up. Pettigrew went after him, accused him of getting his best friends killed and Black blew him up. Hold on" Draco disappeared, leaving the Dracula siblings with a shaking, silently crying Harry staring at Sirius Black next to his parents.

"Here. Original newspaper article. My father kept it, death eaters turning James Potters best friend was practically celebrity news to them." Vlad leaned over to see it, the article talking about how the muggles explained it away as a gas pipe explosion - they were huge, it must have been carnage - and how Peter Pettigrew had a posthumous Order of Merlin, and all they found of him was a finger. "Blimey. He was laughing?" "Hysterically. Even as they arrested him. Didn't put up a fight." Harry was still silent, taking in this onslaught of information about his parents.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Harry's voice was hollow, rough and a brief desire to hex Draco for causing it spiked before Vlad mastered his instincts. "Because I didn't want to be the reason you look so devastated." Draco looked terrified, and it almost seemed rational when Harry growled, and several objects around the room started shaking. It was almost vampiric, and Vlad had to fight a kind of thrill before he approached Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down Harry, you'll regret it if you hurt him." Harry glared at the offending hand, but didn't shrug him off and visibly worked to reign himself in.

"I'm going to bed. I need... I need to try and get my head around all this." It was brave, Vlad thought, of Draco to stand up and speak again when Harry turned around. "Purple vial in the bathroom cabinet is one dose of dreamless sleep. If you need it." Harry didn't turn around, but nodded shortly and disappeared to his room. Vlad was desperate to follow him, but Harry obviously needed to be alone. He probably wouldn't sleep that night though, worried Harry might need him again.

* * *

By the time he got back to his room, Harry was fighting tears. The man escaped from Azkaban had been directly responsible for his parents death. And Draco had known that, and never told him the truth. He understood, rationally, why Draco had hid this. But rationality was not strong right now. He could feel it, emotions bubbling hot beneath his skin and he had made Draco's room rattle. He hadn't had much uncontrolled magic since he started at Hogwarts, not like Vlad. Maybe Hermione would know something - he looked forward to seeing her, someone free of vampires and sleeping together and secrets. For once, Harry craved a little normality.

He had picked the dreamless sleep vial out of the cabinet, but he hadn't taken it yet, rolling the little glass tube in his hand and watching Lily investigate the best places in his room to hang from. "Lily?" He hissed quietly, not wanting to startle her intense study of a coathanger on the outside of his wardrobe. "Yes wizard?" She stretched out her head, indicating Harry should retrieve her - he wasn't sure how she got up there, now he thought about it. Retrieving her and sitting on his bed, Harry tried to word his thoughts.

"Is it wrong to be mad at Draco for not telling me about Black before?" Lily flicked her tongue out thoughtfully, contemplating his question as she stretched out and coiled back up more comfortably. "No. But don't hold it against him, he has been otherwise very good to you. And the vampire boy has hidden things from you before. They act with your best interests. Explain why you feel angry, but let him know you forgive him." Lily didn't question whether or not Harry would forgive him, knowing it wasn't in his nature to hold the grudge.

Not totally aware, Harry ended up knocking on Vlad's door quietly again. He wasn't actually all that surprised to find Vlad still awake, the vampire boy seemed to always know when Harry would need him. "Tea?" Harry nodded, watching as Dobby appeared, vanished and reappeared with a tea tray. "Master Harry's favourite biscuits master Vlad!" the squeaky voice explained, and Harry smiled a little as he saw the iced snitch biscuits that were a speciality of the Malfoy house elves. "Thank you Dobby. That's all, sorry for waking you at night."

"No no, house elves prefer short sleeps multiple times. We get much of our cleaning done at night!" Dobby popped away then, leaving Vlad to make their tea - again, remembering the way Harry liked it. "You always know how to help me, even when I don't know what I need." Vlad shrugged, fixing his own tea now. "That's what friends are for. Did you want to talk, or just drink tea together?" Harry stared down into his drink, trying to piece together what he wanted to say.

"I can't stay mad at him, because then I would have to still be mad at you for knowing about who my grandfather is and not telling me right away. Lily set me straight, I just figured it couldn't hurt to have a cup of tea with my favourite biter. Except Ingrid, obviously." Vlad laughed it off, but Harry saw the flash of hurt and realised - he heard that plenty from their other friends. "I'm kidding. I can see she's attractive, but I don't drool over her. You might have noticed." Vlad nodded, his smile almost convincing. Searching for a better topic of conversation, Harry settled on tomorrow.

"You excited to see Hermione again?" The blue eyes lit up then, genuine affection for their female friend apparent. "Yeah. I mean, me and Ingrid go home in a couple of days and probably won't see her again unless we go see her for school shopping. So will be good to be here to see her. Hope she remembered to tell her parents Professor Snape will be apparating her back and not scream when she reappears in their home." Chuckling as he downed the rest of his tea, Harry shrugged. "I don't know, if Bertrand could apparate it would be hilarious to have a vampire drop her off in the middle of the day."

Vlad conceded his point, smiling around a snitch biscuit and periodically vanishing the crumbs Harry got on his bed. "Thanks for listening, and not thinking I'm weird. I'm gonna go take that dreamless sleep potion, I'll see you in the morning." Vlad got up as Harry turned to leave, but after he seemed to hesitate for a second the boy vampire headed into his bathroom. Harry let himself out, feeling relaxed in spite of not having actually talked much with Vlad. He hoped his friend forgave him for the slight about Ingrid, he must hear that all the time really.

"How are you so far ahead on your homework? Do you do nothing else?" Draco was surprised at how much of their summer homework Vlad had already finished, done with the Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology essays already. "I just like to get all my work done early, then I can do extra reading and I picked up some good books in Diagon Alley." Harry smiled to himself over his Transfiguration homework, watching Ingrid almost dismissively helping Vlad with his Potions essay. "If you do that, you'll blow up your cauldron. Always Griffin feather first, especially before unicorn hair." Vlad scratched out his incorrect writing, fixing his mistake and thanking his sister.

"Miss Dracula, you will be working on antidotes with me. You three will be working on simple first year potions, because somehow over the summer holidays every student seems to empty their brains of basic potions practice. Ingredients, cauldrons and instructions are laid out for you. Begin. If you require assistance, unless it's life threatening wait until I am done with whatever step we are on." It made sense for Ingrid to work on things like antidotes, taking both healing and potions, plus she was two years ahead of them at school, so Harry set up his work station and started on 'potion to cure boils'. He understood what Severus had meant, he hadn't totally forgotten but he was more out of practice on the simple things than he probably should have been.

Lunch was quiet and ravenous, their mornings work leaving the teens hungry and tired. Harry had all but forgotten their visitor when there was a pop, followed by "ugh, portkey" and then "Harry! Vlad! Draco!" all in one excited breath. Hermione jumped on each of them in turn, wild brown curls all over the place. She and Ingrid greeted each other casually, but not quite coldly, and then Hermione joined them in one of the conversation rooms to be filled in over cups of tea and various cakes and biscuits. It was almost grown up of them.

"So you don't know what the locket is? And this escaped convict was a Gryffindor gone bad? There's still almost a month of the summer left, what on earth will you find next?" Hermione had listened, clearly bursting with questions but she let them talk - a case of serious restraint for their excitable and curious friend. "Not sure. The grown ups are researching, and until then we are just working on homework and studying. You should see the amount of books we got from the Malfoy Vaults." Vlad and Hermione enthused about the troves of information rescued from the depths of Gringotts, earning fond and exasperated laughter from the others.

"Hey uncle Severus, did you find anything?" The adults found them in the library, showing Hermione the stacks of books. "We did. We are dealing with a horcrux. The diary was one too, the basilisk venom that destroyed it was a clue." Having next to no idea what Severus was talking about, they all turned to listen rapturously. "And for those us not traversing Knockturn Alley - stop staring Hermione, doesn't sound like a Flourish and Blotts book topic - what's a horcrux?" Hermione closed her mouth as Harry reprimanded her about to question their choice of shopping venues.

"It's an item you encapsulate a piece of your soul in. So long as the horcrux contains that piece of soul, you cannot truly die. It's like... an insurance policy. The fact we have already encountered two, and likely from the same wizard concerns me." They didn't have to ask - Bertrand meant Voldemort. It explained a great deal actually, Voldemort had survived the rebounded killing curse - which was impossible to begin with when Harry did it, but it certainly should have killed Voldemort too. Vlad was the first to recover enough to ask something. "Why does it concern you? Aside from the obvious."

Bertrand sighed and sat down, pulling out parchment and pen. "Excuse the crude approximation of a human soul here. The first horcrux would split your soul in half - or rather, utilise the split of your soul at the time. Leaving the body with half the previous amount." Bertrand drew a circle, which he scored a line through and shaded one hemisphere in. "The second one would include another half, but of the new soul amount." He drew a line in the middle of the unshaded half, shading in that one too and already, the whole circle was now only one quarter of what it had been previously. "If there are two, we can reasonably assume there could be more. And each one" he sliced the last quarter into eighths, then sixteenths "taking another half. As a member of the undead, I must admit even I'm a little unsettled by such a path to immortality."

Vlad pointed to each of the lines. "And each of these is what, a murder and a horcrux split right? So we could be talking about a guy with an eighth, or sixteenth of his original soul? That may say a lot about him, but he had to start whole so maybe not." Even the vampires - who had question marks over their even having a soul - looked a little offset by the idea. "Ok, creepy soul slices aside. Why is basilisk venom a clue?" Bertrand turned the parchment over to the blank side, scribbling his little soul circle and then a thick line around it.

"The horcrux capsule, which could be any object, is impervious to most things. We could drop Malfoy Manor and Hogwarts on that locket, try to cut it in half, set it on fire and submerge it in the deepest ocean. It wouldn't make a dent. It, and therefore the soul inside, has to be damaged beyond magical repair. Dragon fire, fiendfyre, both would work but are very difficult to control. Theoretically, the killing curse may work, but I wouldn't want to risk a rebound if we were wrong. Basilisk venom only has one known cure, and Phoenix tears are hardly an abundant resource. That's why the basilisk venom destroyed the diary."

The teens sat absorbing the information, looking at the rough sketch Bertrand had drawn. "Wow." Draco summarised the afternoon and evening well. "I don't think I need to inform you this information goes no further than this room." "And yet, Professor Snape, you tell us anyway." Vlad smiled at their teacher innocently, then turned to the pile of books they set aside to hand over to the ministry of magic. "I saw that word, I'm sure of it." He hunted through the stack, pulling out a book with near illegible writing. "It's got a charm to disguise the actual cover, I can't seem to remove it but can sort of see through it." Harry leant closer, squinting and he could kind of see what Vlad meant.

Severus took the book carefully, casting multiple spells that appeared to do very little. "Intriguing, it doesn't seem to be a spell, more like the book itself is protecting it's information. I may have to hold on to this." Draco waved him off, mumbling "I know nothing about it" but it was very unlikely anyone here would turn them in. "It's dinner, lets eat and rest and return to this tomorrow. After your morning homework that is." Severus' tone brokered no argument, and Hermione looked around 71st them. "You haven't finished yet?"

"We've spent most of the last week sorting out Draco's vaults while you visited your grandparents. Mornings for work, afternoons for fun." Hermione still rolled her eyes, excited at the prospect of going through the Malfoy library while the others did homework in the morning. He didn't miss the faint flush of Draco's cheeks when she hugged them all goodnight, before making awed sounds at her assigned room. The faint pink became a red stain on their friends face when - at least after Hermiones door was closed - Ingrid told Draco she was in no way giving up "the best room" to Hermione, ever. As Ingrid was in the Malfoy ladies suite, that was a pretty direct statement.

Their friend all but spluttered, but Harry never heard a denial in there as they seperated for the night. He did catch Ingrid giving her brother a sort of knowing smile, but he wouldn't be surprised if they had had a bet on the two and Ingrid was winning - she was like that. "Night guys." "Night Harry" was parroted back at him before his door closed, and Lily hissed in greeting - she was shedding again, and spent most of the last couple of days sleeping. He wasn't sure if it was a regular pattern of shedding for snakes, but then she was no regular snake.

After she was done bathing in her little snake bowl, she coiled around a branch in her tank and rested her scaly little head on the lip of the tank, keeping eyes on him. "You ever heard of a horcrux Lily?" She shook her head, so Harry elaborated, adding his concerns about why he could sort of feel the horcrux like Vlad and Ingrid had. "I doubt that highly wizard. You imbibed basilisk venom, so if you yourself were a horcrux, you aren't anymore. Perhaps part of the change Samael referenced has made you more sensitive, particularly to the energy of someone from your bloodline, who shares magical traits such as parseltongue with you."

He knew thinking he may contain a part of Voldemorts soul was madness, but it helped to have Lily confirm it. "True. Though it's supposed to put the container beyond magical repair, and we have no idea why my body healed itself. I felt that venom, it hurt. I was dying, and then I wasn't. I'm not waking Samael up to ask, that's not fair on him, but its worth considering." Lily yawned a little, or the closest a snake could do to a yawn, she may have just been showing her fangs for fun for all her knew, and shook her head.

"Then even had you contained the soul shard, the venom would have eradicated it. Not that it sounds likely, a human body is a poor choice of capsule for this horcrux from my understanding. Much easier to put beyond magical repair than an inanimate object. Not to mention sentience, that locket can protect itself but it cannot think, a human or animal can. Moreover, it can move and that doesn't seem logical for something you rely on for your immortality." Lily made more good points, but Harry was thinking of that pie chart soul Bertrand had drawn. If you kept hacking away at a soul, would it be stable enough to even stay together? It was getting deep, and starting to make his head hurt, so Harry swallowed down a dreamless sleep dose again, hissed goodnight to Lily and rolled over to let the potion work it's magic.

-YDHP-

 **Hooray for an update? I hope.**


	6. Defensive Tactics

**Apologies if this chapter feels rushed, though I shall try to mitigate it.**

-YDHP-

He wasn't sure if getting away from Harry was good or bad - the wizard boy had been blowing hot and cold with everyone the last couple of days, but Vlad missed him so much it ached already. Ingrid didn't seem to be any less affected, and the two spent most of their time working or reading quietly. Bertrand portkeyed in every two days to make sure they were on track with studying for their blood tests, and always indulged Vlad's frantic questions about how Harry was doing. "Fine, he's finished his summer work and is now reading up on his chosen subjects" was the general gist of the answers, but it was something and Vlad clung to every word about him. He was pathetic, really.

"Vladimir, if I have to ask you one more time to focus on your Transylvanian lineage, I will let Ingrid hex you." Glaring at his tutor, Vlad dragged his eyes back to the page. Mostly because Ingrid was evil with her hexes - the boys in his dorm stuck with jelly legs and disarming, Ingrid had hexed his skin to break out in boils, made him only speak backwards and then made his books attack him. And that was just because she felt like it. He dreaded to think with added motivation. And if she ever learnt less friendly hexes, since she was about to be a fifth year taking Defense against the Dark Arts. And she would transform before the next school year was out.

Bertrand's head turned almost absently towards the bat-hole in the top of the wall. As it was daylight, Vlad wasn't expecting any bats. A Hogwarts owl hooted, flew as hesitantly as he had ever seen one go, two envelopes landing on the floor and the owl disappeared back through the hole. Vlad was the first to hold out his hand, summoning the envelopes and handing Ingrid the one with her name on.

"The Monster Book of Monsters. Why did I let Harry talk me into that class?" There were also 'Beginners Guides' for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, plus his new third year books for his other subjects. Bertrand and Ingrid both gave Vlad looks that clearly said exactly why Harry had convinced him into Care of Magical Creatures. He had to hope the teacher knew he was a biter, and wouldn't have any lessons where Vlad would be savaged by some of the many magical creatures that would love to tear him limb from limb.

Bertrand agreed to portkey back to Malfoy Manor with them the following day, then on to Diagon Alley for school shopping, and the thought of seeing Harry again had Vlad's heart skipping a little. Bertrand noticed, but didn't comment. Unlike his father, who leant obtrusively over Vlad's shoulder to read the letter, scoffing at the book list then demanding to know what had his pulse rising. "Just... thinking how much bigger my course load will be over all this year. Still, it's only going to get tougher." Hoping his father believed him, Vlad tried to master his racing heart.

"You're a Dracula. You shall triumph! Even if it is only Arith... necromancy for Ariths. Is that correct?" Their father had stopped complaining about Vlad's frequent absence as they had been back for the majority of August, but he expected it to pick up again when he realised back to school was imminent. "Close enough dad." Sighing to himself, Vlad focused back on his book to try and calm his instincts toward his mate. Itching to get to Malfoy Manor, he almost used a sleeping charm on himself just to drop off faster, but he hadn't practiced it enough to be confident and settled for remembering falling asleep with Harry, falling asleep full of that contentment.

He practically jumped out of bed, backpack and clothes already laid out ready. Once he had showered, he attempted in vain to convince his hair to behave and was down in the main room waiting for Ingrid and Bertrand a full half an hour early. He had the distinct feeling Phantom was amused as he tucked her in the front pocket of his bag - she could spend the day at Malfoy Manor so Lily wasn't alone. Or perhaps she was mocking him with her eyes - she could clearly tell he was excited, jumping around his legs when he was getting ready earlier.

In spite of the fact she could magically enlarge her own things, Ingrid still used his backpack to carry all her things. Still, he could probably fit Bertrand in there comfortably, with books to entertain him. "Just waiting on the night owl." He caught Ingrid's look, almost... longing. Oh. Oh. Oh no. That would be bad. "It's not... It's him. Isn't it?" Ingrid scowled and shot a stinging jinx at him, which was all the confirmation he needed. His mate was a straight boy, hers a gay vampire. They should find a way to trade. Though that didn't account for Professor Snape.

There was no way she had told Bertrand yet, and it made him wonder at the exact dynamics of vampire mates - did Bertrand feel any pull to her? Especially when she was only just fifteen, he was four centuries her senior. Once Ingrid was sixteen, the vampire world wouldn't care. Hell, they could get bloodbound now and nobody would flap a wing at the age difference once the binding of marriage applied. "I'm sorry. I won't ask anymore." She hexed him again, leaving him rubbing at a painful ache in his leg.

"Did your letter have a note saying to wait in the Great Hall after the feast for McGonogall?" Vlad pulled out his Hogwarts letter, scanning for the 'note' - he had only skimmed the letter before, expecting a replica of the previous two years. "Yeah. Wonder what that's about? Maybe our blood tests?" Ingrid shrugged, and he guessed they would find out in time. Bertrand rose a few minutes later, and Vlad covered for Ingrid turning away by waving the sun protection charm over their tutor. They portkeyed to Malfoy Manor, and Phantom barely waited for them to land on their feet before she leapt out of his bag. Bertrand smoked and smouldered under the sun light, but the charm kept him alive at least.

"Excuse me." He flitted indoors, likely to apply his protective potion before they left for Diagon Alley. Harry and Draco greeted them, dressed and ready to go. Harry's green t-shirt really did suit him, bringing out his emerald eyes perfectly. Vlad had to make himself look away before Harry thought him odd, turning to Draco instead. "Did you hear back from Mr Weasley?" "Yeah, he's meeting us to portkey back and pick up the stuff. Means we can go supply shopping with Ginny and the twins. Hopefully not Percy, he's been made head boy and is apparently insufferable."

Harry chuckled, but Vlad could see his mate looked a little flushed and held up his hand when the other two were talking. Harry nodded, so he cast the cooling charm and Harry noticeably relaxed. He mouthed "thanks" at Vlad, but he just shrugged with a half smile in response - he would always try to take care of Harry. "Any time you grown ups are ready!" Draco crowed towards one of the doors, and Snape and Bertrand soon appeared. "This is a legal portkey. Possibly an alien concept to you, as Mr Potter's relocation has been discovered. I was told in no uncertain terms to not put him at any risk, with this escaped serial killer loose he is not to be alone at any point when we are outside these walls or Hogwarts."

The teens nodded to show their understanding, and Harry looked mildly annoyed but didn't argue. "Guess I can't complain, at least Dumbledore hasn't turned up to drag me back to the Dursleys." Draco grinned. "He's not added to the wards, and since the vault trips were done with neither is my legal team. Unless one of us gives him a portkey to get in, he could only land outside and even then couldn't get through the gates without permission. The one Severus has will bring us back to the outside too. One of the safest places around, Malfoy Manor is now. Shall we go?" They all reached out for the length of rope, which jerked them all to the portkey point of Diagon Alley.

* * *

Vlad seemed to take Harry's safety as a personal mission, even when they met up with the Weasleys, who were conversing with Hermiones parents. The twins greeted them all brightly, even adding deep bows to Severus and Bertrand, who both just glared a little and shook their heads. "Harry, you're pretty cold. You ok?" "Yeah, cooling charms. It's been pretty hot this summer." He wasn't lying, and the twins just bounced along to greet Vlad, then make absolute fools of themselves in front of Ingrid. "The Slytherin Queen! We have missed you dearly."

Ingrid rolled her eyes, but he caught the shadow of a smirk as they pretended to faint dramatically before her. "Honestly. If Ingrid had gotten sorted into Gryffindor" she raised an incredulous eyebrow at Vlad "these two would have been kicked out first year because they wouldn't get anything done." Fred and George didn't contest Vlad's statement, and Mr and Mrs Weasley just looked on in bemusement. "Right! Monster Book of Monsters. Have you seen them? They are hilarious!" Harry had to wonder about the twins humour when they reached Flourish and Blotts, and saw the cage of rabid books literally attacking each other. "Please tell me you don't all need one of these."

Out of all of them, only Ginny and Ingrid didn't need one. "Have you tried immobilising charms?" Harry watched as the shopkeeper pulled on thick gloves and headed over to the cage brandishing a knobbly stick. He looked a little dumbfounded at Harry's suggestion, and as Vlad and Ingrid couldn't publicize their odd powers, it was Severus who huffed and pulled out his wand, a simple freezing charm rendering the books inert. "I'll have to remember that, honestly it's easy to forget such things. Most books don't attack. These have been worse than 'The Invisible Book Of Invisibility', we ordered two hundred copies. Cost a fortune, never found them."

Harry couldn't help snorting, looking at the upset shopkeeper. "Sounds more like someone tricked you. No invisibility charm is permanent." The now very harried looking shop worker was eager to get them done, pointing them over to the various areas to pick out all their books. The six Monster books were larger stacked up than any other book pile, even including Hermione's teetering pile of study material. "I bet that guy has never been so happy to see a group leave. Where to next?" Having already done their apothecary shopping, the grown ups agreed to let the students go finish their shopping themselves. "Nobody is to be alone. Be back here in an hour and a half. Do try not to cause trouble."

They all pasted on innocent smiles, which only made Severus glare harder as he and Bertrand headed back to the apothecary - probably his idea of exciting. "Yes, well, we shall go pick up your robes. And see where Percy and Ronald have gotten too." Nobody could have missed Ingrid freezing up then. "I do apologize sweetheart" only Mrs Weasley was brave enough to call Ingrid Dracula that "but with our trip to Egypt there was no other time to get his school shopping done. Percy is under strict orders to keep him away from anyone, and he's the one who likes to follow the rules." George supplemented his mother with "He's also old enough to use magic outside of Hogwarts, so he can always stun the little rat. We'll protect you Ingrid."

"Oh joy. Red headed guard dogs." She appreciated it to an extent, he was sure but Ron being there wasn't good news to anyone. "Well we've done our robes earlier, and apothecary. Let's go get ice cream, then figure out what else we need to get?" This was agreeable, and there was no sign of Ronald Weasley in the ice cream parlour. Harry decided the wonderful cold dessert was his new favourite food, the sticky strawberry and chocolate sauce on his cone delicious. He joined Vlad in amused laughter when Ingrid licking mint chocolate off her thumb had half the parlours patrons staring blankly, and even Ginny and Hermione were stifling chuckles in their hands between mouthfuls of brownies topped with toffee ice cream.

He noticed Vlad staring at him strangely, lifting a hand to check for remnants on his face. Finding a piece of chocolate flake on his cheek, Vlad stopped looking at him so intently and he wondered why Vlad hadn't just said something. Shrugging to himself, they checked their lists. "We need to stop off at the joke shop, pick up some supplies. Then the apothecary without adult supervision. You won't tell on us, right Ingrid?" The less questions they asked, the better Harry thought. Though he supposed Gambol and Japes would be safe from Percy Weasley, and therefore Ron. "Did you guys get your Hogsmeade forms signed? Hogsmeade is awesome!"

Harry froze. Who was he supposed to get to sign that? He hadn't even thought. Vlad nodded next to him. "Well, its signed. The less said about it the better." Ingrid was smirking, and Harry had the sneaking suspicion neither Dracula had had their father sign the form. From what Vlad had said about him, particularly his attitude towards Ingrid, he doubted they would have gotten it signed if they had asked.

"We should hit the sweet shop, I'm out of sugar quills and I can't seem to stop chewing on the regular ones. Don't eat owl feathers kids." Ginny and Hermione giggled at Vlad's mock serious face, and they all got a cold drink to sip at before they seperated. Harry expected Florean Fortescue might have complained more about their group size, but the amount (Draco paid before they could blink) they spent in one swoop was probably compensation enough, and Ingrid had attracted multiple new customers (he guessed, based on the odd orders by multiple men who were staring in their direction. For once, Harry wasn't the center of attention. It was glorious).

The group moved outside, and spotted the Weasley parents. "Got our robes mum?" The adults nodded, casting... suspicious? looks at Draco. "Apparently, there were instructions that they were already paid for. You didn't have to do that young master Malfoy." Draco flushed but shrugged. "You're doing me a favour, and it really doesn't even touch my inheritance. That's not including all the vaults I can't even touch until I'm seventeen. That's uncle Severus being cautious, as though I'm going to spend all my gold on chocolate frogs and gobstones if I have unlimited access. I know my father was vile to you at the Ministry, consider this me making reparations. Vlad and Harry beat me to rescuing your daughter so I couldn't do it that way."

Gred and Forge managed to slip away, claiming they were escorting Ingrid to the apothecary for her protection. Hermione wanted to go to the pet store, but they couldn't all go - Harry knew the store needed advance notice of vampires because certain animals would freak. "Draco, you go with her. Want to come sweet shopping Ginny? You guys can go relax at the Leaky Cauldron, we'll be along once we are done. Did you find Percy and the... other one?" Draco was luckily still blushing lightly from the Weasleys, so nobody noticed his cheeks heat up when Vlad encouraged him to go be alone with Hermione, and Vlad grinding out something non-expletive to describe Ron was enough distraction.

"Yes. They were done, and against his protests Ron is back on his way to Bulgaria with Percy. So Ingrid is safe, but the twins think we don't know they are joke shopping." There were knowing smiles on their faces as they checked Ginny's list was done, then left for the pub while the youngest Weasley walked with them to the sweet store. "So, you excited for your second year Ginny?" "Yeah. Well. I think so, I don't really... remember much from last year." Sharing a look with Vlad, they stopped in a side alley for a second. "Ginny, what happened last year was not your fault. It was Voldemort" she flinched "and people older and far more magically trained have been taken over by him. You fought him every step, and nobody blames you for what he did. Now come on, lets indulge Vlad's deepest desire to get diabetes."

"Hey! You're always stealing my sweets." Ginny seemed to perk up a little, and they both bought her a few things, against her protests. "To cheer you up. You're like an honourary little sister to us both." "Exactly. So stop complaining and eat your jellied eel. Its not a real eel." Ginny eventually smiled properly, sucking the sugar off the jelly eel as they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. They just beat Severus and Bertrand, who had a laden bag from the apothecary. Ginny watched in amazement as it went into Vlad's backpack - the shopping bag magically sealed but no other magic on the ingredients! - followed by their piles of books. "Undetectable extension charm. Comes in useful."

They sat while the Weasleys ate, and Draco and Hermione reappeared with what Harry would guess was Hermiones new pet owl. Which had clearly noticed the vampires about, hooting unhappily and ruffling it's feathers. "We should get going. Mr Weasley?" "Yes, yes. I should be home for dinner, I will see you soon my dear." He kissed his wife goodbye, and Harry looked away but also envied it slightly - they had a real, proper family and their marriage was clearly a joyful one. Harry didn't really have a proper family, and it could be years before he found anyone who saw past "Harry Potter the boy who lived" to just see "Harry.". Oh well, he was only young. There were years to find the right girl for him.

They portkeyed back to the entrance of Malfoy Manor grounds, watching as Draco pressed a hand to the gates, which opened for him. Mr Weasley looked around the library in awe, seeing the pile marked "for Ministry" stacked across a table. "We have a spare trunk for you to take them away in there, that's just so you could see them. Thank you for getting them away from me." Mr Weasley smiled at Draco. "Thank you for being honest enough to hand them over. Some people would pay huge sums for these bits of dark knowledge."

The Weasley male waved his wand, the piles of books levitating and stacking themselves neatly in the open, empty trunk. "I shall take these to the Ministry. Is there a Floo fire?" Draco nodded, he had an outgoing-only Floo that was password protected, so he had to let the Weasley man out. Harry called after the man. "Thanks Mr Weasley, for trusting us and not just arresting him or something."

"That wouldn't be very open minded of me. This young man is clearly not his father." Draco glowed with the praise, smiling wider even than he had after coming back with Hermione before. Vlad went to unload their books so Harry could pack his own, and Severus' apothecary bag. More tricky was finding Phantom, who was apparently playing hide and seek with a decidedly uninterested Lily. "She's behind the undeadly nightshade over there." The snake flicked her tail in the general direction of a few plant pots filled with black and green flowers, the ever changing colour scheme cycling through the various plants grown in the extensive grounds.

Vlad retrieved his disgruntled familiar, tucking her back in his backpack pocket. "I guess we'll see you on the Hogwarts Express. You can let me know in the journal what your plans are, we still have to get there early because technically we aren't supposed to portkey there. Can't have anyone seeing us." Vlad hugged him, feeling less ridiculously warm against his skin than most people did nowadays. There was something to be said for an undead best friend. When they seperated, Vlad was looking at him oddly again. "What is it?" Vlad shook his head, squinting and then smiling. "Trick of the light. Don't worry about it. We better get going before Phantom breaks out."

Vlad and Ingrid portkeyed away, leaving Harry and Draco to go put their school books in their rooms. "Did you have fun with Hermione? Dracooooo has a crush!" The usually pale, marble like complexion had never lit red so many times in one day, and Harry was glad it wasn't Vlad he was antagonizing, as Draco couldn't hex him until they were back at Hogwarts. "Oh do be quiet. Go make sure your trunk is packed, back to school soon!" Harry was undeniably excited to be getting back to Hogwarts, even with so much already whirling in his mind about horcruxes and souls and snakes. Taking off his glasses to splash cold water on his face, he looked up at the mirror and jumped. "What the..."

-YDHP-

 **Back to Hogwarts next chapter!**


	7. Soulless Searching

**Kitsune Jewel - I did warn you there would be a whole lot of oblivious wizard! other than that, glad you thought the chapter cute!**

 **This chapter is dedicated to Dark Serpent Cat, not specifically for help on this chapter but for being a brilliant sound board for Chosen Two as a whole!**

 **I am excited about third year, but I am even more excited for fourth year. Basically, I'm excited!**

-YDHP-

Harry leaned into the mirror again, closed his eyes, rubbed at them and even wiped the mirror. Nothing made the change in his eyes go away. "You've got to be kidding me." He didn't know who he was talking to, other than himself. His eyes were the same vibrant green as ever, but the pupils had elongated. There was no other word for it. His eyes looked like snake eyes. His eyes... Fuck, his eyes looked like Voldemorts had. Just green instead of red. Harry retched, barely making it to the toilet to vomit at the resemblance to the evil hidden deep in his DNA.

"Not good. Not good at all." He blinked in the mirror as he rinsed his mouth out, cold sweat beading on his forehead. The more he looked around, he could see... things. A faint greenish glow around the bath and toilet, a pinkish warm sort of light on the towel rack. Cleaning charms and warming charms. Looking down, Harry saw the pale blue surrounding his skin - Vlad's cooling charm. Trying to focus, the glows faded. Turning back to the mirror, he sighed in relief as he realised his eyes were back to normal. Still, not good. "Can you come a day early before we leave for school?" He scrawled the note out to Vlad in their linked journals.

"I'll work it out. What's wrong?" Vlad shot back almost instantly, and Harry quickly answered with "nothing major, just need your outside school magic. I'm fine, don't worry." Vlad worried more than Harry had ever known. It was a little strange, but nice. Harry hadn't had anyone care so much before he met his best friends. Or at all really, as he couldn't remember his parents. Though he knew they loved him, they had died for him.

"Alright. See you soon." Vlad wrote back, and Harry breathed out in relief. Vlad would have a plan. Maybe he could... glamour his face so nobody saw the freaky eye thing. Not using magic outside of Hogwarts sucked, but Vlad and Ingrid's special powers meant that they got special permssion, in order to ensure they kept training and didn't end up with accidental magic bursting out of them like Vlad had when he broke Ron's wrist. Brushing his fringe over his face self consciously, he went back to packing his trunk, taking the books off the bookshelf and loading them in.

He was folding his robes when Dobby 'popped' in, looked at Harry's rumpled pile of clothes and snapped his bony fingers, and Harry's clothes neatly folded themselves and fit snugly in his trunk. "Thanks Dobby." "It is a pleasure Master Potter!" He had corrected Dobby a couple dozen times, but tried again anyway. "Harry, please. What did you come in here for?" Dobby bounced around, ears flapping as he did so.

"Master Draco instructed the elves to ensure all laundering and clothing is finished and sorted for Master Harry Potter and himself to go back to Hogwarts! I will take the basket and be on my way Master Harry Potter sir!" Dobby's squeaky voice seemed to linger as he and the laundry baskets contents vanished, leaving Harry to make sure he had packed owl treats and Lily's tank.

"The elf makes so much noise. May I eat him?" Lily hissed as she wound herself around his bicep, the better to rest her head on his shoulder near his ear. The snake knew she wasn't allowed to hurt living things, it was her way of expressing annoyance - she threatened Phantom with eating her on a near-daily basis when the furry Bastion familiar irritated her. "No. You know that. Do you know whats happening to my eyes?" He could see a white line glowing in the door, which he thought may be a repair charm so he expected his eyes were snake-like again.

"The sight of a magical serpent. We see magic differently to you humans. At a guess." He knew Lily's kind were said to be overly perceptive, and too little was known about basilisks to be sure - particularly their eyes - about them. Still, seeing magic was weird. How did Vlad and Ingrid train doing this? It must give them a wicked headache. The glows faded again thankfully, and when he was called for dinner Harry kept his eyes on his plate. "Are you alright Harry?" Severus quizzed, and Harry nodded. "Just tired. Too excited about going back to school, can't sleep!" He worked to keep the enthusiasm in his voice, offering a smile when the pink glow of warming charms on his plate disappeared.

"Perhaps utilise a sleeping draught for now. It's important you are well rested to return to school. When do the Draculas return?" Realising he hadn't asked - though he doubted Draco would mind - Harry shrugged. "Day before we go back I think. They have a portkey to the platform, which is technically not allowed and beats travelling there. Don't you have to go back before us too? So Bertrand will be our responsible adult." Severus nodded, listing off the things he had to prepare in his office and classroom before the students returned. The potions master also knew they couldn't send Draco and Harry to Stokely Castle to wait, as Draco didn't know about Count Dracula and the vampire genes running through his kids.

The weird sight thing flickered out with no rhyme or reason, and Harry spent most of his time in the library doing work just to keep his eyes down until Vlad and Ingrid returned the day before Hogwarts. Bertrand had come a day and a half before, so Draco and Harry wouldn't be alone in Malfoy Manor. Flicking through a book on cooking charms out of sheer boredom (Draco was giving messages to the Malfoy elves, as they would be alone in the manor until Christmas now), he suddenly found himself with a face full of black fur. "Phantom! If you damage a book Draco will hex me six ways to Pluto!" Vlad charged in after his familiar, then smiled as he saw Harry.

"Ah. She was after you then." Phantom darted out from under Vlad's hands, off to cause mischief elsewhere in the Manor he suspected. "So, what's the emergency? Are you ok Harry?" Harry looked around, checking nobody was about to follow them in. "My room. Come on." Vlad followed instantly, passing Ingrid on her way to the Ladies suite she had commandeered. She gave Harry a passing greeting, seeming a little... subdued. Vlad pressed a finger to his own mouth, telling Harry to stay quiet until they were alone.

His door closed behind them, Vlad quickly explained. "Dads a little too hard on her. Begged me not to go back, asked if Ingrid could start staying there during the summer. Plus... Her transformation is this school year, she has to prepare for her OWLs while her body starts shifting. It can be rough. Anyway, what did you need me for?" Harry could see Vlad differently all of a sudden - his hands had a black glow, stripes of red and white through the aura around his whole body, his friend was almost thrumming with magic. Looking down, his own glow was a little greener, but there was red and gold and blue all over him. He looked like a firework waiting to go off.

Turning eyes up to Vlad, he wasn't surprised Vlad drew back a little, blinking and rubbing his eyes. "I thought I saw something, but it vanished before I was sure." Vlad sat next to him, leaning in and there was an intense moment of silence as Vlad stared into his eyes. "I won't lie, it's pretty cool to look at. But I'm guessing you don't want anyone else seeing this? Is it triggered by something? Or just random? Because it wasn't there five minutes ago." Vlad jumped straight to the heart of it, and Harry was relieved that Vlad at least wasn't terrified by the resemblance to Voldemort his eyes sort of gave him.

"Yeah. I figured maybe you could put a glamour charm on me, like you do with that bite mark on Bertrand's neck?" Vlad dug through his backpack, pulling out a book on appearance altering charms - it was apparently for future need, if he needed to hide his fangs. He couldn't picture Vlad with fangs. "I think it would be easier to glamour your glasses. It'll wear off much slower. I need to wait for the... snake eyes to wear off again, so I know what I'm copying. Hand me your glasses." Harry took off the rounded glasses, holding them out to Vlad. "Wow. I hadn't thought to check, but I can see fine right now." As the magic glows faded, so did his suddenly clear vision and the world was suddenly a little fuzzy again. "Damn. Anyway, do the glamour."

Vlad stared at him intently for a minute, making Harry want to squirm under the scrutiny of his intense gaze. "Ok. Got it." Vlad wrapped a hand around his glasses, then whispered " _oculus viridian"_ almost silently, and Harry's glasses glowed for a moment and then faded to look normal again. Replacing them on his nose, Vlad nodded and Harry went to check in the mirror. "If you use a _finite incatatum_ spell, come back to me to check the glamour in case it cancels it out. Otherwise, I'll be able to see there's a glamour. Ingrid might see it too, but I'll explain it to her in tutoring class or something."

Vlad had a way of relaxing Harry, always having a solution or at least being willing to follow Harry into a half-baked plan and figuring out a way to get them both out alive. And now, glamouring his glasses and not questioning the quirks of Harry's bizarre changes from Samael biting him. He was a vampire, he understood changes there were no control over. "All this plus your magical spurt being due. Should be a fun year." Harry cocked his head in confusion. "Magical spurt?"

"Yeah. I don't know how it'll work for me and Ingrid, but pretty much any witch and wizard has two magical growth spurts, thats why magic schools wait until you're eleven. One due around 13-14, the second by 16-17. Again, thats why we elect new classes for third year, and the second is when we come of age in the magical world. It's all to do with managing and utilising the way magic grows. Plus with Samael boosting you in some weird way, your power growth could be even more different. If it is, we'll figure out. You all packed for school?" Vlad could drop a bombshell about magic growth and then jump back to normal conversation.

"Yup. All my clothes clean, books and stuff packed. Lily's tank too, can you carry her in your backpack for the portkey trip?" Vlad nodded, smiling. "Sure. No worries. Lets go test your glasses, dinner should be ready soon." The vampire squeezed his shoulder, smiled and stood up. As Harry stood up too, his vision went green, the glow of the glamour on his lenses uncomfortably bright. "We gotta figure out how to control this sight thing, I'm gonna get a headache looking through this glamour stuff." Vlad raised an eyebrow, and Harry realised he hadn't explained what the eyes could see. "I'll explain later. Make sure I don't fall down the stairs."

Vlad reached out, wrapped cool fingers around his wrist and guided Harry to the banister. "There you go. Go slow." Harry made it down without falling head over heels, and the glow went away by the time they had reached the dining room. Ingrid gave Harry an odd look, but Vlad did say Ingrid may notice the glamour charm somewhat so he tried not to panic.

* * *

Staring so close to Harry was a cruel punishment, the scent of his mate so close and Vlad felt a new, almost overwhelming urge to kiss the wizard. He didn't, of course but he knew the bond was evolving, and he had maybe a year or two before his whole body wanted Harry. This was bad. He forced himself to focus on helping Harry, and not telling him the snake-like eyes were... oddly appealing. Harry wouldn't appreciate such things.

The glamour seemed to work well, as he could tell when Harry's vision thing flickered in, his face would twitch and his eyes seemed to go out of focus. When Harry explained that he could sort of see magic, or certain spells and the aura around Vlad (did it HAVE to be black?), it was fascinating. Whatever Samael had done to Harry, it seemed to be ramping up with his magic burst due to come in.

He wondered if Harry was born to be different and Samael had seen it, or if it was like being turned by a vampire - just something that happened and was changing him. It was soothing in a way, that his mate had some unique senses and talents too, it made Vlad feel less of a freak, and may even explain how it was possible he had a non-vampire mate. He couldn't help but wonder... was Harry entirely human? With Voldemort in his genes, Samael in his blood and he had survived the killing curse as merely an infant. He was unique, there was no denying that.

Rising the next morning, Vlad leapt out of bed and hurried through his shower. They were going back to Hogwarts today! He loved the school, full of adventure and mystery and magic and Harry. Hogwarts had brought him his mate, the old building would always be special. "Almost nine am. Everyone ready? Bertrand?" The tutor nodded, holding up his bottle of sun potion and Vlad waved the matching spell over him. "Why are we going early?" Draco quizzed, apparently not aware Vlad and Ingrid had permission to get there early.

"We just do. Living in Wales and having to go alone by portkey, we were just told to get there in advance. The portkey is timed. And with Bertrand, it's better to go there before anyone else in case he forgets the sunblock potion, we don't want anyone noticing he smoulders." Draco nodded, grasping the handle of his trunk like everyone else did. Except Vlad and Ingrid, who had theirs shrunk and pocketed. Lily was in his backpack, Phantom in the carrier Bertrand was holding for him - his own things were also in Vlad's pocket, shrunken down for ease of access.

They each grabbed hold of the stick, and as the clock struck nine they were all dragged along to the empty platform. Almost immediately, he, Ingrid and Bertrand tensed up, no doubt all picking out the same scent. Werewolf. "Usual compartment?" "Yep!" Vlad levitated their trunks to the end of the train, then turned to Bertrand. "You two stay here, we won't be a second." Leaving no time to argue, Vlad followed the other two vampires out and cast a locking charm on the compartment door. "Where?" He knew Bertrands senses were most developed, turning to him to track.

Bertrand sniffed deeply, then started off towards the carriages in front. They were met part of the way, a slightly skinny, exhausted looking man wearing patchy, worn robes eyeing them. This was the werewolf. And by the look on his face, he knew what they were too. Bertrand had his fangs bared, and the wolf man looked unperturbed by that but clearly had his ire raised by the biters. "Who are you?" Vlad raised an eyebrow - he had his uniform on already!

"Should be asking you that. We are the ones supposed to be here after all. Who are you?" The man considered them for a minute, mostly fixed on Bertrand. "Professor Lupin. You know what I am. So you know why I couldn't get to Hogwarts before." Mentally running through the lunar calendar that he had been studying, Vlad nodded - the full moon had been last night. "We're students. I'm Vlad, this is Ingrid. That's our tutor, Bertrand. And nobody else knows what we are. We would like to keep it that way." The professor nodded seriously.

"My... condition is a secret also. Let's agree to keep each others secrets young man, agreed?" He didn't think the professor was lying, and nobody was trying to savage each other. Maybe it should be kept that way. "Alright. We can live with that. One question. Bitten or born?" He couldn't help being curious. Lupin looked surprised, but answered him anyway. "Bitten. Now if you don't mind, I will be resting. Good day." He bowed, almost invisibly so that the back of his neck was never exposed to them, then he turned and left the otherwise empty carriage.

Bertrand watched until he couldn't be seen at all anymore, then looked down at Vlad. "I suddenly wish I didn't have to escort you. The wolf will be in the teachers compartment." Vlad told the tutor he was welcome to stay in the back compartment with them, where the werewolf smell was nowhere near as noticeable. Bertrand deliberated for a minute, then nodded and joined them again. Harry and Draco both demanded explanations, and all they told them was "we aren't alone, we went to check. You guys can't use magic and Bertrand can defend himself. It's fine, they aren't a threat."

The drivers compartment was warded anyway, to ensure nobody could get in or out except the trolley lady so they couldn't sense him if they wanted to. Draco disappeared behind the latest issue of the Daily Prophet, which would be delivered to the school until Christmas now - the Malfoys had a permanent subscription and Draco was the main Malfoy now. Sirius Black was still front page news, though it wasn't really news when they repeatedly talked about his crimes and that he wasn't found, with repeated mentions of him being a loyal Voldemort supporter.

When Ingrid stood to leave a full half an hour before others would start arriving, Vlad was the only one to know why. It would be the last chance she got to be away from her mate for a while. "Be careful." She scoffed, repeated that she couldn't be caught hanging around with so many lions and left. Bertrand gave no outward signs of concern or knowledge, but for all Vlad knew he was feeling the pull himself. He did have four centuries of practice on the whole poker face.

Hermione found them at five to eleven, tanned and smiling as she fell into Ingrid's vacated seat. "Good holiday?" She launched into an animated description of it, which successfully distracted from Vlad staring out of the window, deep in thought and not even noticing the train had left until the air dropped about ten degrees. Even Bertrand shivered slightly, and the rainwater on the train window froze. "What the hell is going on?" Vlad was about to open his mouth and say "no idea", but the words didn't leave his throat, caught as a dark cloudy shape drifted past the window.

"Did you see that?" Everyone shook their head, but then there were more and everyone saw them. "Oh no." Draco seemed to recognise the shapes, his usually pale skin almost transparent in horror. "Dementors. The guard's from Azkaban. What are they doing on the Hogwarts Express?" A cold dread spread through his chest, and Vlad could suddenly think of nothing but Harry screaming in the Chamber, absolutely certain his mate was dying before him. Turning to check Harry was safe next to him, he was met with Harry looking utterly desolate, his whole body going rigid and saddened whimpers leaving his mouth.

The door of their compartment crept open, and there was a sort of dull sucking noise as puffs of visible breaths left everyone's mouths. Harry seized up completely, sliding off the seat to the floor clutching his head and Vlad didn't hesitate to move between the dementor and Harry, hoping to try and shield his mate with his body. The dementor drained him though, made Vlad feel weak and cold inside, Harry's screams still echoing in his mind. Nobody seemed to know what to do, and everyone looked almost... broken in their eyes as the thing swooped in to the compartment. Phantom hissed angrily, eyes glowing purple as she stood next to Vlad and Harry, slowing the cloaked abomination somewhat.

"Nobody is hiding Sirius Black under their cloaks. Go." Vaguely recognising the voice, Vlad shielded his eyes against a blinding bright light and suddenly the thing was gone, screams fading in his mind and the temperature practically leaping back up to normal. The light dissipated, and Vlad caught sight of Professor Lupin the werewolf holding out his wand. "Everyone back to their compartments. Go!"

The smell of wolf filled the room as Bertrand helped Vlad lay Harry across their seats, brushing a hand over Harry's clammy, sweaty forehead. "Everyone alright? Oh dear." Vlad refused to move aside, but Lupin cast one look at them all and immediately pulled out an enormous slab of... chocolate before handing it around in pieces. "Eat. It helps mitigate the effects of a dementor. Is he unconscious?" Vlad nudged at Harry's shoulder, and his mate finally stirred. "No, he's coming round." Harry pushed himself up to a seated position, looking around in confusion.

"Who was screaming? I heard... I heard screaming." Vlad had heard screaming in his head, but Harry wouldn't have heard that. "No-one was screaming Harry. Are you ok? We thought you were having some sort of fit." Apparently they had had a conversation while Vlad was panicking. A huge piece of chocolate was pushed into Harry's hand by the professor. "Eat. You'll feel better." Vlad took a bite himself now Harry was upright again, and felt warmth spread through his whole body with surprise. "Thank you sir." The wolf eventually left, but not before he heard "move!" in the hallway and definitely recognised that voice. Ingrid would never admit to worrying about them... especially in front of others.

Her eyes found Vlad first, as it was clear Harry was still recovering from whatever had happened. Vlad offered a tiny smile, as best he could to say he was ok because Harry was, and she scanned the rest of the compartment. "We're all fine. Mostly. And the thing has gone. Searching for Sirius Black according to that guy who chased it off." There was so much he couldn't actually say with Draco and Hermione and Harry present, but hopefully Ingrid got the message that he meant the werewolf, and that he had saved both their mates from the dementor effectively. Satisfied, Ingrid left "before anyone thought she cared."

Harry chewed on the chocolate and some colour returned to his face, cheeks slightly flushed in embarrassment when he heard he was the only one to faint. "Don't worry about it. Better get into our robes, not far to go." They pulled on their robes, all wearing the higher quality ones Draco had bought them - even Hermione - and the Weasley twins heads appeared in the doorway together. "You guys saw them too then? Blimey Harry, got enough chocolate?" Harry managed a chuckle, a sure sign he was feeling a little better as they quickly chatted with the twins about the dementor.

"Oops, we had better change too. See you at the table!" Harry finished forcing down the chocolate, hissing quietly to Lily now they were alone again. Phantom got plenty of fuss and attention as she purred in his lap for protecting Harry for him, and Vlad apologised and gave her a treat through the wired mesh front of her carrier when he had to put her back as the train started to slow down. "I'm going to go ahead, I'm supposed to chaperone with the other teachers." Bertrand checked everyone was alright again, then headed off down the train.

Sticking to Harry's side like glue, Vlad kept eyes out for more of those dementor things as they stepped off the carriage towards the thestral-drawn transport to Hogwarts. On the ride there, there was a flash of cold by the school entrance, where two rotting-cloak creatures hovered either side of the gate. "Are they... are they guarding the school?" Hermione peered through the window, shrugging. "Must be. They must be worried Black is going to try and get into the school. I'm sure we will find out at the feast."

Harry looked mostly recovered by the time they got in, so Vlad was no longer considering ignoring the note in his Hogwarts letter to stay behind. The others could get Harry back to the tower, he trusted their friends. The first years were lined up to be sorted, but the headmaster stood before the sorting. "You will of course know the Hogwarts Express was searched, and the entrances are guarded. Hogwarts will be playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, until the notorious escapee Sirius Black is caught. It is not in the nature of a dementor to listen to excuses or pleading, so ensure you do not leave the school grounds without permission. That's all for now, so let us move on to the newest faces of Hogwarts!" Dumbledore sat back down, and a sharp glare from McGonogall quieted the whispers filling the air as she unrolled the list of first years.

"Arden, Zachary!" a small blonde boy climbed up to the stool, looking terrified to be first as the hat slipped over his head. "Ravenclaw!" the hat didn't take long to decide, and Arden looked relieved to be able to escape and disappear into the crowd of his new House table. The next three went to Ravenclaw too, reaching "Evans, Richard", who became a Hufflepuff and Vlad caught a flicker of sadness on Harry's face - Evans had been his mothers maiden name. "Franks, Paul" became a Slytherin, the boys short, cropped brown hair disappearing the second the hat touched his head.

"Giles, Georgina!" In the otherwise silent hall, a loud sigh of complaint was heard. "It's George!" Vlad couldn't help it, and neither could Harry or the Weasley twins - they laughed. Nobody had ever interrupted McGonogall at the sorting, or even spoken out of turn before. The Gryffindor students fell silent when their head of house glared angrily in their direction, and Vlad caught Ingrid looking at the girl with amusement dancing in her eyes. A small, excitable looking girl with mousy curls that were possibly wilder than even Hermione's took to the stool, and Vlad watched as the hat took half a second to shout "GRYFFINDOR!". Professor McGonogall clearly rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, offering prayers to whatever deity she believed in now this cheeky first year was in her house.

Georgina Giles dropped down at the Gryffindor table with a wide grin, pointing at the crest on her robes that now bore the Gryffindor lion. "Must be magic! Oops. Shh!" She hushed them as a whole, miming zipping her mouth shut towards McGonogall and pasting an innocent smile on her face as the sorting resumed. "Greengrass, Astoria" became a Slytherin, following her older sister who was In the same year as them - third. There was another set of identical twins sorted into different houses, like the Patil sisters. "Jones, Jacob" became a Slytherin, but "Jones, Jason" became a Gryffindor. The strawberry blonde twins looked at each other sadly, prompted gently by McGonogall to seperate and head to their newly assigned tables.

"McCauley, Alex" became a Ravenclaw, "McDonald, Malcolm" a Hufflepuff, and Vlad spotted the werewolf Lupin sat up at the teachers table. By the time "Yates, Jonathan" joined the badgers too, Gryffindor had gained only six new students. The headmaster stood up again to introduce the new teacher. Or as it turned out, teachers. "Professor Kettleburn has decided to retire, in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Care of Magical Creatures will now be taught by our very own Rubeus Hagrid!" The Gryffindor table cheered the loudest for the gatekeeper, who flushed and bowed and smiled over at them.

"And our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin!" The applause wasn't thunderous, but still led by Gryffindor. Surely he couldn't be worse than Lockhart had been. He had gotten rid of that dementor after all. Once the feast officially started, Vlad overheard Jason Jones complaining sadly about his brother being sorted into 'the total opposite' house. "How do brothers end up in such different places?" Hermione nudged the boy and pointed to Vlad. "Vlad's sister is in Slytherin, and they still get along." Jason looked over at Vlad almost desperately. "Really? Where?" Ingrid had a habit of sitting in the same place all the time, changing the fan club around her periodically.

"There. The one the new Slytherin boys are trying to get the attention of." Jason looked, spotting his own twin brother staring at Ingrid. "That's your sister? Wow." The boy seemed more relaxed with proof he and his brother weren't the first siblings to be seperated by snake and lion, and Harry was watching the Weasley twins entertain the new Georgina. "Don't call me that. I hate it. Everyone calls me George! I'm... what's it called? Muggle born! My parents were so surprised when I got the letter."

"I'm Gred, that's Forge. Also known as Fred and George Weasley. I might need a new nickname since you stole my name. Us George's gotta stick together eh?" Vlad kept a close eye on Harry, but his mate seemed completely recovered by now. The fifth year Gryffindor prefects had a fairly easy job, three boys and three girls the only new additions. "New password is _Fortuna Major._ Come along first years!" Vlad had to hang back, waving the others off and Ingrid was doing the same a few feet away. Bertrand joined them a couple of minutes later, beckoning them to follow him towards a side room off the Great Hall.

It was clear immediately why the three of them were there - so was Professor Lupin. "Is this to warn us not to kill each other because we are biters and he's a wolf?" Professor McGonogall looked surprised they were being so candid, and already knew. "Uh. Yes. I suppose." Vlad smiled tightly, itching to get back to the tower already. "We met on the train. And we don't want our secret out any more than he does, so we agreed. Isn't that right Professor?" Lupin nodded stiffly. "Remus, you should be aware. This boy is Harry Potters best friend." Vlad's brow creased in confusion - the werewolf looked almost pained by the idea. "Why does that matter?"

Lupin closed his eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again, amber irises glowing with suppressed emotions. "It doesn't. If you'll excuse me Minerva, I am still recovering from last night and could do with some rest. I promise to cause no trouble with the resident vampires. Good night students, Mr du Fortunesa." Bertrand left almost immediately after, the smell of werewolf apparently too much. Vlad turned to his head of house as Ingrid left too. "Don't worry Professor. He helped save Harry from the dementor, and he's a bitten not a born. We have no reason to fall out with him." Professor McGonogall nodded, then sent him on his way. Hurrying back to to the tower, Vlad found the dorm exactly as he remembered it. It even smelled the same. They were home again.

-YDHP-

 **Upon reviewing plans and such with this story, I have noticed some ages don't adhere to canon. So apologies if that bothers you, have a snitch cookie! *feeds***

 **Vlad's side of the chapter is only so much longer because it seemed pointless switching to Harry POV just for the sorting, and he had to chat to McGonogall. I am still making the effort to balance the boys out, worry not.**


	8. Classy Accidents

**Looksie, back again! Back at Hogwarts for their third year, and oh there is so much in store for my boys!**

 **I offer you thanks and apologies for not complaining about the ridiculous spelling mistakes, Because smart phone autocorrect is a nightmare as ever and I have no computer.**

-YDHP-

"Phantom, can you not wait five minutes to start knocking things over?" Vlad was arguing with his little pest of a familiar, as she was rummaging through the stack of books Vlad was sorting in order of late night reading material. Harry placed Lily's tank back in it's usual spot, switching on the heat mat at her request and running a finger down the length of her scales as she slithered in to the glass box Vlad had made for him to give his familiar.

There was a sense of tension in the air - the last two years had started with arguments, both times initiated by Seamus reacting hot-headedly to something. First year had been Draco getting sorted into Gryffindor, second year had been Harry being a parselmouth and Vlad and Draco defending him. "So, did everyone get their Hogsmeade forms signed?" Harry realised he hadn't yet - he didn't know who to ask. No longer staying at the Dursleys, he didn't really have an actual guardian now. "Not me, but then I had nobody to ask." That brought an awkward silence, but Dean Thomas - artistic and good with a quill - offered to forge the signature on his form. Weighing up the option, Harry handed it over and spelled out the name. He could always not hand it in, or vanish the signature if he had to.

"How's this?" Dean showed a couple of rough drafts on scrap parchment, and Harry gestured to the one that closely resembled the signature he remembered vaguely. "That one works. Thanks Dean." Folding the form up, he stuck it back in his trunk and finished unpacking his pyjamas. Like every other night at Hogwarts ever, Vlad disappeared to change in the bathroom. "Dracula, do you have like, I don't know, deformities or are you just that scared I'm better looking shirtless than you?" Vlad raised a dismissive eyebrow at Seamus, who grinned unapologetically. "I just like changing in private, what's wrong with that?"

The rest of the third year boys weren't nearly as shy, particularly Harry as he had had to get used to changing with the other boys in the Quidditch changing rooms. "I'm too full of food, can we talk about why Vlad doesn't get his nipples out for Seamus in the morning?" There was an out break of chuckles in their dorm, followed by some valiant denials from Seamus as they all climbed into bed. Taking off his glasses was a blessing, the greenish glow of Vlad's glamour starting to get on his nerves.

Looking around the dormitory, he could see the reddish glow of Lily's tank where Vlad had put in heating charms, multiple jagged white lines in the curtains around his bed where they had been repaired countless times and the faint glow of Vlad's 'aura' where he was pottering about making sure his things were tidy.

"What's on your reading list tonight then geek-ula?" Vlad's tendency to stay up reading was well known, and he bit his lip while looking through the pile, thinking before holding up their third year Transfiguration book. "We don't even have timetables yet, we might not have Transfiguration for days!" Vlad shrugged, waving his wand to close the curtains around his bed and disappearing from sight for the night. Harry followed suit, leaving a small gap Lily could slither through if she wanted to and staring up at the canopy of his bed-curtains. It was good to be back.

" _Stand aside girl!_ " The voice ordered, high and cold and unforgiving. " _Never! Take me, leave my son!_ " A frantic, terrified female replied, and then there was the scream, the bright green light and the high, cold laugh that had haunted his dreams since infancy. Bolting upright, Harry barely made it to the bathroom before he lost his dinner, tears streaming down his face as he heaved. His scar ached for the first time in months, adding to the general sense of awful Harry felt. Knelt there, he cried weakly until a cool hand touched his cheek. "Harry, what's wrong?" Harry didn't have to answer, Vlad's fingers brushing over his clammy forehead and somehow always dulling the pain from his scar.

A whispered spell removed the sweat, tears and bile from his face, and a glass of water that glowed faintly yellow was pressed into his hand. "Drink." Voice soft, low but commanding, Harry sipped mechanically and recognised the stomach settling potion taste Vlad had given him when he ate too much chocolate. "Just a little, to help stop you feeling sick. Can you get up?" Finishing the glass, Harry leant on Vlad's outstretched arm and staggered to his feet. Vlad flushed the toilet, refilled the glass and slowly guided Harry back to his bed.

They didn't speak again until Vlad was done redrawing his curtains, silence-charms on them. "What happened?" "Bad dreams. Dementors. The screams I heard... They were my mother." Stopping to sip at the water before the nausea could return, Harry shuddered. "He... Voldemort told my mother to stand aside. Why? Did he know she was... Did he knowingly kill his own daughter just to get to me?" There was no right answer to that question, so Vlad answered him slightly differently. "Your mother died protecting you. Even if she had known he was her father, she would have done it again in a heartbeat. She loved you Harry, don't ever forget that."

Vlad brushed over his scar again, making Harry wonder if there was something in his face that told when it was hurting. Ice cool soothing calmed the pain, and after he finished the second glass of water he lay back down. "Thanks Vlad. Best vampire friend a boy could have." "Anytime. Night Harry." Vlad slipped out between the curtains, and Harry didn't hear him get back into his own bed but then remembered as his curtains glowed a sort of blurry grey - silencing charm. Feeling a little better for the potion, water and general air of comfort Vlad offered without ever judging him, Harry rolled over and went back to sleep, blissfully free of dreams this time.

Vlad was up, dressed and tickling Phantom when Harry woke again, offering him a small smile as Harry ambled to the bathroom, feeling better for having showered and dressed. "Breakfast then?" There was no mention of his bad dreams, no sign Vlad had found him crying over a toilet bowl in the middle of the night and Harry appreciated it more than words could explain. "He's finally awake. Come on snake charmer, we're hungry!" The others had waited for Harry to be ready for the day, except Seamus who had woken and somehow dressed himself while barely opening his eyes yet - he was rarely alert before there was food in front of him.

The common room was half full of half-asleep students, and excitable first years. "Morning sleepy heads! Awwww, look at the kitten!" Georgina Giles, who demanded to be called George yet again, was instantly taken with Phantom. There was a brief second where they waited to see if the Bastion familiar reacted, but her eyes stayed clear and she let the new girl stroke her fur and inspect her collar. "Phantom Dracula. What a weird name for a cat." Vlad didn't correct her - he wasn't supposed to advertise his familiars talents if he could help it. "I was going to call her Poltergeist, because she's a terror who knocks stuff over and appears wherever she can cause trouble, but it was too long. So Phantom it is."

George and the other first years clung to the third year boys group, obviously not wanting to get lost on the way to the Great Hall their first day. The Great Hall was a myriad of colours to Harry when his vision flickered back to 'magical snake' as Lily had called it, an absolute sea of aura colours and it made his head spin. Vlad, Ingrid and Bertrand stuck out the most, their base colour jet black so Harry guessed that meant vampire. Pretty much everyone else was a similar shade of pale yellow, a little paler on the students Harry knew to be Muggle born like Hermione and Dean. Neville's was a little darker, but then he was technically a pureblood. There were wisps of brown striped through it, but Harry didn't have any basic idea to put that to.

The head table was a rainbow, mostly basic yellow but so much colour mixed in. Severus was purple, with highlights of bronze and a faint shimmer of gold. Bertrand was just black, perhaps the tiniest hint of crimson. The new professor, Lupin, confused Harry slightly. His aura was similar, but if he had to guess with nobody else around, Harry would have called it a more amber colour. That could be the spectrum of colours hovering around in there, brown and bronze and a little bit of darker yellow. His head was starting to ache, so Harry went back to focusing on the warming charmed plates until it flickered out again.

Vlad suggested a trip to Hagrids to fill their morning, and two first year girls and one boy wanted to meet the gamekeeper properly - One was George, the other girl Harry thought was called Isabella, and the boy Jason who grabbed his twin as they passed the Slytherin table. Hagrid was thrilled to see them, greeting the first years enthusiastically and thankfully not offering them rock cakes as he hadn't had time to bake them yet. The new students looked hilariously minute on Hagrid's huge sofa with their bucket sized cups of tea, while Vlad, Harry and Hermione all settled on some of the squishy bean-bag chairs that tried to swallow them whole with their cushy filling.

"I'm George, this is Bella. And I only know which of them is which by their house colours which they aren't wearing." Jason and Jacob introduced themselves again, though they called each other "Jake" and "Jace", and after they finally got through the enormous beverages, Hagrid took them out to see some of the animals he had prepared for classes. "That's so cute! What is it?" Harry thought Bella's approximation of cute needed some work, but her cheeks were flushed and eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at the strange dog-like creature. Dog was only an approximation, as the thing had feathers instead of fur on it's legs, and two tails.

"It blows that we can't take care of magical creatures until third year. Are you guys taking it?" The three Gryffindors nodded, and George squealed happily when Phantom popped up from behind a pumpkin growing ready for Halloween in Hagrid's vast garden. "Allo Phantom!" Hagrid recognised the furry bundle, who scampered up his enormous arm to rub her face against his bushy beard. "All the teachers love Phantom, because she accepts nothing less." Hagrid walked them back to the castle for lunch, promising the first years they were welcome to visit any weekend they liked, which only cheered them further.

He got through lunch without his eyes playing tricks again, and after a brief visit to greet the elves in the kitchens now they were back, they let Draco convince them over to his godfathers quarters. "I see you are taking steps to befriend the first years." Harry shrugged, getting comfortable in his usual spot on the sofa. "They wanted to meet Hagrid, and it means the twins got to hang out together away from anyone who might complain at another house member in their midst." "Like those second years last year who spent five minutes refusing to accept I was Ingrid's brother. Because I'm a lion." Vlad added, watching Lily coil her way around and around the perch Severus had put in for that exact purpose - he was fond of the magical snake who donated her shed skin to him, a rare and expensive ingredient otherwise.

"Perhaps you should tell them about your changes from Samael wizard." Lily hissed from her spot, but Harry wasn't prepared to talk about it. Not yet. "Not right now. Not until I know there isn't more coming." His hissed conversations with his familiar no longer drew attention from the current occupants of the room, letting Harry relax somewhat even as his eyes 'switched' again, the glowing of wards enclosing every wall, the bookcase, even the doors. Shaking his head slightly, he took a glug of chamomile tea and hoped it would help calm him. Third year was off to an interesting start.

* * *

Vlad hadn't understood why he woke out of nowhere until he saw Lily staring in the direction of the bathroom. Harry was crying, and the air was thick with the smell of vomit and sadness. That was pushed aside, his mate needed him. Harry took the water laced with settler potion, and Vlad contemplated adding dreamless sleep but Harry might want to talk. He silenced the curtains and let Harry talk, unsure what to say in answer because he didn't know - Voldemort may have had no idea and just not wanted to kill Lily for a multitude of reasons, Vlad hadn't been there.

After a day reacquainting themselves with Hogwarts, Harry seemed much relaxed and he didn't feel any pull to wake up that night. The next morning, they got their timetables at breakfast. Scanning Harry's briefly, he saw the wizard had a free period already, while Hermione and himself had Arithmancy. "See you in Transfiguration. Try not to get in trouble on our first day." Harry grinned, pretending to brag about all the free time he had with only two elective classes.

Vlad had been making the effort to forget how they had only one common elective, and he had only taken Care of Magical Creatures to be with Harry anyway. It would be an adjustment after every class being with Harry. "Quidditch tryouts on Saturday afternoon Potter, be there!" Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain and keeper - a bulky, muscular seventh year - called in passing, and Harry promised to use his free hour constructively... Vlad expected they had a mildly different idea on what that meant. Having already packed all his books into his backpack, Vlad joined Hermione to head to Arithmancy, a class taught by a Professor Vector.

It wasa little like school maths, though it would get more difficult as years went by and they branched into using runes and constructing spells. "This first class will be solely on what Arithmancy is and does for magic, but after this we will move on to the really interesting stuff." Professor Vector looked a little like his mother, fair skin and long dark hair. She also favoured red, velvet-like robes and wore the matching pointed hat, which very few students wore except for celebratory feasts at Hogwarts now. However, she seemed genuinely interested in imparting her knowledge, and delighted in their eager "any questions" session in the last fifteen minutes of class.

They were a few minutes early to Transfiguration, the first years in there not yet freed. Harry looked a little concerned, and Vlad let his friend pull him aside. "Snape said that it was known where I was. What if McGonogall doesn't believe the form was signed by my uncle?" Ah. Vlad remembered it being announced that the third years should get their Hogsmeade forms to their heads of house. "I'll make sure she believes it. Trust me?" Harry looked unsure as he handed over his forged form, but then the first years were leaving and conversation was halted.

"Hey Vlad! Hey Harry! Hey Hermione!" The first years who had been to Hagrids hut with them before were now the awe of the other first years - whether it was just because they knew older students, or the whispered "you guys know Harry Potter?" from the ones who recognised him as they passed. Harry rolled his eyes as they entered class, and everyone was excited - they were moving on to transfiguring inanimate to animate objects this year. Next year would be actual conjuring, though Vlad had some experience in that already thanks to his tutoring sessions involving Ingrid. They had done simpler ones last year, turning animals into inanimate objects but it was harder to turn something into a living creature than it was the other way around.

The lecture started on animagi - Vlad already knew that transformation wasn't possible for him, vampires automatically gained the power to turn into bats when they transformed, and magical vampires had never been known to be able to achieve the animagus transformation. It would be especially tricky even it were possible, as the only cure for incomplete changes (that he knew of) included mandrake leaves - toxic to a vampire.

Professor McGonogall transformed to and from a cat there in front of the class, receiving applause, then disappointed them all by explaining they wouldn't learn that in class. "It takes anything from one to five years intensive study, access to a master of Transfiguration and a potions expert in case anything goes wrong. It also takes above average power levels, which none of you have... yet. Though some of you may be due your first magical growth spurt any day now, you'll likely need your second one to have a chance. And Transfiguration that turns you into an animal temporarily is not the same thing - you'll need a wand wielding wizard to change you back, and animagi retain human thought. Transfigured animals do not."

Vlad made a note to check with his tutor about the limitations being a vampire had on that, though he didn't need it for another two years at least. They were each given a ball of wool, and told to roll out lengths then attempt either a snail or slug, depending how adventurous they felt. Everything was going fine - in that apart from making their wool slimy, only Vlad and Hermione managed to make their wool resemble the creature they were aiming for. Then there were screams from the girls sat behind them, and Vlad turned to see Harry had accidentally turned his wool into a - harmless species of - snake.

"Sorry professor, I don't know what happened!" Harry couldn't even hiss to calm the surprised snake, because that would out him as a parseltongue. Professor McGonogall waved her wand quickly to change it back, knowing exactly that and asking Harry to stay behind for a repeat attempt - they didn't have a class immediately after this one. "Gryffindors, please bring me your signed Hogsmeade forms. Mr Longbottom, your grandmother owled yours to me in advance." Neville put his hand back down, looking relieved as they filed out. Vlad felt a little sick, but Harry was more important. "I've got Harry's form, he keeps all his stuff in my bag because it's expanded."

As he handed over the forms, Vlad held his professors gaze. Hypnosis was something vampires learnt by twelve, and should have mostly mastered by thirteen. Bertrand had been surprised how quick Vlad had picked it up, and Draco had made them promise never to tell anyone about his ballet routine Vlad had hypnotized him into doing. "Both in order, yes?" "Yes Mr Dracula." The professor blinked, and turned away to file the forms away, then turned to Harry.

"I don't mind Vlad staying, he's been helping me with my issues with my magic since the Chamber last year, it's been a little... off." The professors didn't know Harry had been the basilisks chew toy, and that the venom was changing Harry. "So what do you need?" "Just a little time to clear my head. Right." Vlad knew Harry was squeezing his eyes shut, not thinking about snakes as best he could and repeating the spell. He didn't reach slug, but there was slime and a slight shape change. The second try was the same, and his third was a slug. A dead, shriveled and still oddly orange coloured slug, but a slug all the same. "Well done Mr Potter. I trust you'll continue to work on this, and seek help if it becomes unmanageable?" Harry nodded, and the two disappeared off quickly.

"We'll work on it if it happens again. Just remember not to think about snakes." "Easy to say." Harry snapped back, and Vlad had to fight not to flinch. He apologised a minute later, and the matter was forgotten - by Harry at least. Vlad couldn't help but angst about angering his mate. It was Healing after break, so Vlad started his Arithmancy reading in the library until Care of Magical Creatures was about to start. Meeting Harry, Draco and Hermione at the doors, they all crossed over the fields to Hagrid's hut.

There was a row of animals, because animal really was the only word for them. Their body, back legs and tail were that of a horse. The front legs, wings and head were that of a rather angry looking eagle. Very lethal looking beaks designed to eviscerate organs (that was his fathers voice saying that in his head, he would probably love these creatures) led up to large, brilliantly orange eyes. "Ye need ter open yer books." A general hum of "how?" came from the class, and Vlad saw many of them had belts around the large, slightly deranged books.

"Stroke the spine o'course. Or... what is it ye done to yours 'Arry?" Harry flushed slightly, but mumbled "immobilising charm". Some students pulled their wands and cast the charm, others watched as Hagrid lifted Neville's book and ran one meaty forefinger down the spine. The book quivered, then lay open and flat across Hagrids palm. "Biting books, you moron." Vlad caught some of the Slytherin students muttering, and he hoped the books had gotten a good few bites in before they were bound.

"What are those things Hagrid?" Hermione prompted, as Hagrid looked a little nervous now. "They are Hippogriffs. Gorgeous aren' they?" Gorgeous was a stretch, but the feathers were sleek and glossy looking, and the variation of colour was actually quite intriguing. They ranged from jet black inky sheen to a storm-grey one, one with a bronze hue and another pinkish. Then there was one almost white-gold in the sunlight, and the last was a chestnut browny-orange. Hagrid encouraged them up to the fence, holding thick chains attached to wide leather collars to show the Hippogriffs were restrained.

"Turn ter page nineteen, and ye should find a diagram bout their wingspan and stuff." They did so, and Hagrid tied the chains of all but the chestnut to a tree, then led the chestnut closer to them. Several students backed away. The third year Gryffindors held firm though, support for Hagrid overpowering any concern they had for the creature. "Two important things with Hippogriffs. Never insult them, they are very proud creatures. And always let 'im make the firs' move. Who wants ter go firs'?" Nobody seemed too keen, but Harry noticed and dropped his book, shrugged off his robes and stepped over the fence. "I'll do it."

"Thank ye 'Arry. Now, make eye contact, and then ye bow. If he bows back, ye can touch 'im. If not... We'll cover tha' later." Vlad had a sudden urge to yank Harry out of there, but that would embarrass Hagrid so he just kept a fiercely close eye on his mate, cringing as Harry exposed the back of his neck to the sharp beaked eagle-horse thing. Buckbeak - as Hagrid had called the chestnut - simply observed Harry haughtily, not moving and Hagrid started to encourage Harry to move away, but then Buckbeak dropped his scaly front knees and unmistakably bowed.

"Ye can pet 'im now, go on!" Harry stepped closer hesitantly, Vlad's heart racing with every step as he reached for the beak. Buckbeak let him, almost seeming pleased by the stroking over his deadly curved beak. Vlad sighed in relief as Harry did, but it didn't last long when Hagrid decided Buckbeak would now allow Harry to ride him. For a brief second, Vlad contemplated hexing their teacher. Harry was hoisted one-handedly by the large man onto the Hippogriffs back, and before Harry could contemplate where to hold on to the beast, Hagrid slapped it's hind and Buckbeak launched himself into the air with enormous twelve foot wings.

Vlad wished he could transform, wished his bat form could take over so he could soar after Harry and pull him back safely to earth, watching desperately as the feathered fiend flew around with his mate clinging to it. One circle around the paddock, though thirty feet above ground, and Buckbeak was flying back to ground. The floor shook as he landed, and Harry looked windswept and thrilled to be back on solid earth. He was grinning maniacally though, as though the nerve-wracking experience for Vlad had been thrilling for Harry.

Emboldened by his success, the others climbed into the paddock cautiously. Which was fine, until Vlad stepped up to the inky black one. The hippogriff took one look at Vlad and reared up, squawking angrily and beating his wings, waving his talons angrily in Vlad's direction. Everyone else bolted, and Vlad tried to decide which position would help keep his throat intact as he threw an arm up to protect his head. Pain sliced down his arm, and he was thankful his robes hadn't been shucked yet as there would be no hiding his dark blood from the others.

" _Impedimenta!"_ Hermione had her wand on the one that had attacked Vlad, and it stopped in it's tracks long enough for Hagrid to distract it with a dead ferret while Harry and Draco helped drag Vlad out of the paddock. He was prepared to bet, if he looked in a couple of books, somewhere it would say vampires should be nowhere near the creatures. This was precisely why he hadn't wanted to take this class, but he couldn't drop out now and Harry was still in it, apparently with no regard for how much Vlad worried about him when he let Hagrid put him on the crazy eagle back and take flight!

A huge arm wrapped under his shoulders, the other lifting his legs as Hagrid decided Vlad needed _carrying_ to the hospital wing. His arm was healed within seconds, but that was after a lovely stinging sensation of antiseptic, to ensure no infections as the talons that struck him had been covered in straw and dirt from the paddock. "I'm so sorry Vlad!" Hagrid was sobbing, and Vlad shook his head. "Its fine. You didn't pick that class with the express intent of getting me injured, and I'm fine now. See?" He held out the fully healed, not even a scar arm Madam Pomfrey had mended, and Vlad knew Hagrid would have to be informed he was a biter to ensure this didn't happen again. Three classes in to their first day... Why couldn't he stay out of trouble again?

-YDHP-

 **Oh look, magic can heal wounds instantly! Looking at you book!Malfoy.**


	9. Telling Terrors

**And Chosen Two Year Three hit twenty followers! The same amount of people are reading each chapter as they did with Y1 and Y2 but less followers... WHAT IS THIS MAGIC? Do some of you just loiter and get excited when you see an update?**

-YDHP-

"Try not to get attacked by that slug, ey Vlad?" Seamus mocked, as he had been doing almost continuously since their Care Of Magical Creatures incident involving a disagreement between the hippogriff claws and Vlad's arm. Vlad glared at their dorm mate, changing his wool too and from a slug for a few minutes while Harry tried. If Seamus' wool suddenly reared up and covered his face in slime, well, Harry didn't see Vlad do a thing. After a few solid hours of practice, drinking replenisher and practicing again, Harry was slowly getting a handle on his magic trying to make everything snakes. Vlad had been endlessly patient, waving his hand to change each snake back to wool and stopping Harry pulling his hair out in frustration.

Lily had nothing to offer other than to suggest Harry talk to Samael, but he wasn't lifting the suspended animation sleep for such a small thing - Samael deserved better than being woken for a few minutes only to be put back to sleep. "What are you doing while we're at Healing? Other than reading again." Vlad shrugged, fiddling with a stray thread on his jumper. "I have to go talk to Hagrid. See if its gonna be too dangerous for me to keep taking COMC. Like if there's gonna be a class where we get up close with a unicorn, I can't go." Harry nodded, understanding they were in the courtyard for morning break and Vlad couldn't say "telling our teacher I'm a vampire" outright.

The unicorn thing was interesting though, remembering first year detention in the forest and the weird burn mark on Vlad's hand. Little things started to make sense over time. Trudging up the stairs to Healing class, Harry actually enjoyed this one. Even if half the time they learnt about potions, but the different ways different spells could be used to heal the body were amazing. He and Hermione were paired up to practice bandage charms, used to splint broken bones either to straighten the bone before healing or if they weren't confident/competent to heal the bones themselves and needed a medical professional.

Madam Pomfrey only scolded them once for making the bandages fly around instead of wrapping neatly around the 'injured' limb, and they both got excited to hear they would be working on practice dummies with realistic injuries the next month - they weren't going to actually injure each other but some charms could only go so far on theory. "What have we got now?" Hermione rolled her eyes, pointing out Harry had his very own schedule to check. "Yes, but you have it memorized in three days." Grinning happily, Harry got his answer.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts. Now we've done a couple of simpler lessons, I'm hoping for a little more practical stuff. Lupin seems good, don't you think?" Harry nodded, packing his healing books back away - Vlad carried his books for their common classes, but now they didn't take all the same Harry actually needed his own book bag again. Though with the addition of the pouch Vlad gave him for his birthday, Lily didn't take up too much space when she wanted to spend the day listening in to his classes.

"How did it go?" Vlad shrugged, looking ambivalent about whatever reaction Hagrid had had to the revelation. Following him in to DADA class, Professor Lupin surprised them all by saying "You won't need your books, just your wands." He was stood next to a rattling wardrobe, which several students looked wary of. "Now, would anyone like to venture a guess as to what I have in here?" Hermione raised her hand, while Vlad was squinting slightly as he looked at the angry-seeming furniture. "Hermione?" Lupin was a strange teacher, wearing old fashioned cardigans and calling students by their first names - the others wore robes and called students Mr or Miss followed by their surname.

"A boggart sir." Lupin beamed, nodding. "Correct! Now, can anyone tell me what a boggart _looks_ like?" Vlad had his hand up amongst a couple of others for that, and it looked almost like it took their teacher great effort to call on the boy vampire stood next to Harry. "Vlad?" The other students lowered their hands, turning to listen to Vlad. "Nobody knows, because when seen by any actual eyes it becomes the thing that person or creature fears the most. Thats why they are usually drawn as clouds of mildly intimidating smoke in books."

There was an intense stare between the two, and Harry wondered exactly what their animosity was. Maybe the teacher didn't like vampires, and if any teacher was informed of vampires ahead of time, it was the DADA teacher. "Correct. Five points to Gryffindor for an informative answer." Nudging Vlad with a grin, his friend lit up when Harry congratulated him for earning points. "Boggarts aren't affected by most charms or shields, but there is one charm specially designed to fight them. Without wands please. _Riddikulus!"_

Vlad didn't actually say it, Harry noticed - he didn't always need a wand so he might accidentally fight the floor beneath his lax hands. "Now, two things worth noting. Can anyone tell me the advantage we have over the boggart?" Hermione raised her hand quickest, getting called on again. "There's so many of us, the boggart won't know what to change in to as so many people will have different fears." "Correct Hermione! Take another five points." Hermione flushed happily, and as he looked Harry noticed she was standing next to Draco. He wondered how long until that became more.

"I once saw a boggart undecided on whether to turn into a headless zombie or a flesh eating slug. In it's confusion, it turned into half a slug. Not remotely terrifying. And the second thing to remember, what really finishes a boggart is _laughter._ When you cast your charm, take the thing you fear the most and turn it into something _fun."_ At the realisation they were going to do this as a class, half a dozen students - including Vlad and Draco - backed away almost instantly. "If you don't wish to face the boggart in front of your peers, see me after class for a private attempt." Vlad, Draco, Neville, Hermione and two Slytherin students quickly moved aside, observing without participating.

One Slytherin student ended up at the front of the class, holding their wand up like a sword as Lupin waved his wand and the wardrobe door clicked open. A low sort of growl left the wardrobe, a sniffing nose followed by large paws coated in thick black fur crept out - a wolf. "Come on Blaise, make it funny!" Blaise held his wand out, hand surprisingly steady. "Riddikulus!" The wolf rolled on it's back, tongue lolling out and shrinking down to become a puppy as it wriggled. "Excellent! Parvati!" A sound like a whip-crack sounded and the puppy was replaced by a huge, blood stained mummy.

Its empty, hollow eye sockets turned to Parvati, then it's bandaged limbs started moving stiffly towards her. "Riddikulus!" The mummys bandages unravelled and it tripped over, head rolling off to boot. "Fantastic! Seamus!" The crack sounded again, and the headless mummy was replaced by a greenish coloured woman with floor length black hair, matted and dirty looking. Her mouth opened unnaturally wide, a high pitched wail filling the air - a banshee. A few sounds of encouragement jolted Seamus out of his shock, and his charm cost the banshee her voice.

"Justin!" The curly haired Hufflepuff boy stepped forwards, the boggart replaced by a huge snake that reared up, hissing angrily but the sounds made no sense to even Harry - this wasn't a real snake. As it bared it's fangs, the charm turned it into a huge jack-in-the-box, and Harry watched as it became a severed hand that scuttled along the floor before catching itself in a mouse trap, a huge rat that tripped over it's own tail and got tangled up, then a zombie that dropped all it's limbs and looked confused, but the next one made Vlad shake all over. Lavender Brown stepped up to the pile of pieces, and the boggart cracked again before standing tall, all pale skin and long black hair, dark circles under it's bloodless, red eyes and the thin mouth opened to reveal fangs. Sharp and pointed, and dripping with blood.

Lavender stopped dead, unable to work through the fear and Lupin intervened, somehow shoving the boggart-vampire back in the wardrobe and locking the door. "I think thats enough for today. Everyone take a piece of chocolate, and I want an essay on the strengths and weaknesses of Boggarts for next week. You six, please stay." Harry joined the waiting ones - he hadn't gotten a chance yet and would have waited with his friends regardless. "Miss Patil, kindly escort Miss Brown to the hospital wing for a calming draught." The teacher really was shaken.

The five Gryffindors were asked to wait in the office upstairs while the Slytherins had their turn - Harry suspected that was to keep their secrets more than the Slytherins though. "Any of you who wish to go alone?" All five shook their heads, led down and Hermione stepped up first. As the wardrobe opened, Professor McGonogall stepped out of the wardrobe, tutting and shaking her head at a piece of paper. "Miss Granger, you have failed every single class. Nobody has ever shown such poor grasp. You are hereby expelled from Hogwarts!" He saw his friend tear up, her hand shaking as she raised her wand. "Ri-ri-riddikulus!" The boggart started laughing, in a wholly unbelievable manner for their head of house, who threw the piece of paper up in the air and it exploded into confetti. "Of course I was just joking! You graduate early for such high marks!" It continued laughing, a little unsettling.

* * *

Hermione stepped back, taking the chocolate handed to her and sitting down heavily, wiping away a couple of stray tears. Neville went next, and Harry was intrigued. The boggart turned into his grandmother, who towered over him with a deep scowl. "Your parents would be ashamed of you! Worse than death they suffered, and for _you?_ Waste of perfectly good magic you are!" Neville wasn't even fighting, his wand clattering to the floor and Vlad quickly summoned it when the professor pulled the crying boy away. "Draco!" The young Malfoy stepped up next, and the boggart split into two, forming his mother and father together.

"You're such a disappointment! Should have killed you when I had the chance!" "You cost me the chance to have more children, and _this_ is how you come out?" Draco looked about to cry himself, but held up his wand and managed to say the charm with more conviction than Vlad expected. "Riddikulus!" His parents turned into monkeys with blonde wigs, scratching their heads and the boy actually managed to laugh. The boggart flickered, and the teacher congratulated Draco. "Excellent work! And rather fetching may I say."

The rest of their class seemed to have fairly... tame and normal fears, but the few of them who has stayed behind had some really dark fears. Only he and Harry were left, and Vlad _knew_ what his was going to be. Offering the teacher a sort of desperate look, he asked Draco to take Neville to the Hospital Wing. Truth be told, Draco looked like he could do with it too. "They know about you then?" He pointed to Harry and Hermione. Vlad nodded, turning to face the monkeys currently chewing on their wigs.

Closing his eyes, swallowing thickly and trying desperately to think of anything that would make it better, Vlad squared his shoulders and stepped into the boggart range. It noticed him, turning and twisting into his most terrifying nightmare. Harry lay dead on the floor, blood still leaking weakly from the puncture marks on his neck but most of it had been drunk, a messy red stain around Vlad's fanged mouth. "No! R-R-R-Riddikulus!" The boggart changed again, Vlad on the floor while Harry held up a stake, aiming it straight for Vlad's heart -

A body his instincts recognised as Harry pushed into his side, shifting the boggarts focus to Harry while Vlad clutched his chest, fear still cold and rushing through him. The room fell cold, and Harry's screams filled his mind again. Struggling to look up, Harry had fell to his knees in front of a boggart-dementor, clutching his head. " _Accio Harry!"_ It was a bizarre way to pull his mate free, but Vlad hadn't worked out how to stand up yet and he had to get Harry away from that thing. The cold feeling lifted and when he looked up, the wardrobe was closed again.

"Right. Well. No more practical boggart sessions for this class I think. Eat some chocolate, do any of you need to go to the hospital wing?" Vlad wouldn't let go of Harry, using his free hand to take the chocolate and cram it into his mouth. Maybe if he rotted his fangs enough he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone ever. "I wouldn't hurt him, I swear." He wasn't even sure who he was talking to, watching as Harry's eyes cleared and he looked around. "Where's the dementor?"

Letting his mate go **hurt,** but Vlad knew Harry would get suspicious if he didn't let him sit up. "Boggart. Your boggart was a dementor. How do you feel Harry?" Harry chewed on the chocolate held out to him, shaking his head. "Cold. Was I out long this time?" "Barely a minute or two. Your friend here pulled you out of the way, and the boggart is back in its box. Do you need to go to the hospital wing?" Harry shook his head again, standing up and Vlad copied without being aware he was moving.

"I'm ok now. Lets go get dinner. We have more chocolate in the dorm if we need it right?" Vlad nodded, trying to shake off the chill still settled over his bones at the thought of ever hurting Harry. "Right. We could probably even call the elves for hot cocoa if we wanted." Harry dusted himself off and looked around, then asked Vlad and Hermione to wait outside a minute for him. "Are you ok?" "Yeah, fine. Just want to talk to the professor."

Barely biting back a growl of frustration - what could Harry say in front of a _werewolf_ but not his mate - Vlad followed Hermione out. He wasn't Harry's mate. And the teacher had not been anything but polite and civilised and actually a good teacher so far he supposed. Forcing the instincts back down, Hermione placed a hand on his arm. "Vlad, none of is expect you to turn in to a mass killer. I doubt the others would believe you were... you know, even if you told them." Vlad nodded, trying to shake off the memory of the sight. Harry came out a few minutes later, and the trio went down to dinner.

"So what was your boggart guys?" Vlad shrugged at Seamus, pushing his pie crust around his plate - his stomach was still in knots. "If we wanted to share we wouldn't have stayed behind. Some things are secret you know?" Seamus almost flinched, but the boy was rarely serious for long and started reliving his 'taking on' of the banshee. Harry didn't talk about whatever it was he had stayed to talk to Lupin about, and Vlad was half - let him have his privacy and half - tell me tell me tell me. Harry didn't hear either side of the internal debate, quiet the rest of the evening and the elves _did_ bring them hot cocoa to the dorm. Hermione joined them, all thankful for the Friday night and bundled up in pyjamas against the sudden chill September had brought.

Harry had Quidditch try outs, which always had Vlad torn - watch Harry do something he clearly adored, but watch his mate fly like an absolute lunatic with utter disregard for the laws of physics. Still, the pull to watch Harry where nobody would be watching him was too enticing, and Vlad found himself surrounded by the first years who stared at the sky in awe. George had a book of Latin with her, open in her lap but otherwise completely unused as she saw them _flying._ "Must be magic!" Jacob and Jason were sat together too, "oooh"-ing and "ahhh"-ing when the older players pulled more daring moves.

Harry was miles ahead in skill and natural ability than the two others trying out for seeker, and Draco trying out as reserve keeper seemed to go just as well for him. Particularly on his firebolt, giving him unbeatable speed as he zoomed around the field. "Flying lessons aren't nearly as fun as that looks!" Bella was quiet but apparently a closet adrenaline junkie - Vlad could fly pretty well but he still thought Quidditch looked lethal. They all ducked as a bludger flew all of ten feet above them, a whoosh of Weasley twins flying after it and shouting greetings making the first years laugh.

The other first year boys - Matthew and Davey he thought but should check - were just as star struck, all declaring they would be trying out for the Quidditch team next year. Phantom cared little for Quidditch, stretching out in a patch of weak sunlight and purring when Vlad tickled beneath her chin. "That's it! Thanks everyone, I'll post the new line up by tonight." Scooping up Phantom (he wasn't allowed to leave her on the grounds alone, though she often escaped there anyway) Vlad indicated to the first years they should head back. "Almost dinner, and you don't want to catch a cold your first week!"

Dropping his familiar off - well, she dropped herself out of his hands and scampered off to cause havoc - Vlad was joined by the first years again, listening to them chatter away about all the new magic they had learned. George moved up to let Harry sit with Vlad, cheeks flushed with cold air and eyes sparkling with the joy only flying seemed to bring out in his mate. "You were so cool flying like that! I want to fly like you!" Harry had apparently developed something of a fan in young Matthew, who quizzed him on flying for half the meal, barely stopping to shovel food in his mouth all the way until they left for the common room.

Jason was quiet, somber. "What's wrong?" "Jake said the other Slytherins told him not to hang out with me so much because lions and snakes shouldn't be friends. He's my brother, why does it matter what house we are in?" Vlad smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way, reminding Jason he had a similar situation again. "Not all of them are like that, but the whole house rivalry thing existed way before we were even born. Don't let them tell you who to be friends with, because when we leave this school house places will matter very little. Some just don't see it that way. If you like, me, you and your brother can go visit Hagrid again tomorrow, no lions or snakes stuff. Just cool animals and tea cups bigger than your head!"

Jason nodded eagerly, smiling again now. "Sounds good. I had better get started on my homework." Offering to help out garnered all the first years, and a couple of second years. Hermione could obviously smell homework in the air and joined their impromptu study group, practically glowing with the reminder she was actually _brilliant,_ which some of the younger students actually called her when she helped explain their work to lead them to correct answers. "So shape first, then colour, then material." Jason noted down the 'steps', then set about applying it to his essay. "Correct. Transfiguration is one of the toughest subjects, but if you break it down in to smaller tasks you'll find it a lot easier."

Percy Weasley stopped by to congratulate them on helping young minds get into homework so early on, and George and Davey both fell about laughing when Vlad pulled faces at the head boys back. "He's alright usually, just don't mention being head boy." Ginny nodded in agreement - it was her older brother after all. "Is it true you and" the girl dropped her voice dramatically "Harry Potter faced a professor who had you know who possessing him?" Gryffindors were horrible gossips, Vlad had conveniently forgotten by now. "Yes, but don't ask him about it. Not exactly pleasant memories for us, almost dying and all." Her eyes were like saucers as she nodded, looking over to where Harry was loitering with the others waiting for the Quidditch team listing to be put up.

"Yes!" "Like there was any doubt, you're practically a bird trapped in a human body. Give him flying and he's never been happier!" Draco made it as a reserve from what he heard, Harry the seeker again and the other positions totally unchanged from the year before. "Do you play Quidditch?" Vlad shook his head, pointing out in George's book where she needed to learn what fertiliser was best for which plants. "For fun in the summer holidays sometimes, but no way am I voluntarily doing six am practices and flying in the wind and rain. And Hermione hates flying. There's no books in the sky after all." His friend tossed a balled up parchment at him, reminding him he spent almost as much time in the library as she did. When Bella was falling asleep in her Potions study book, Vlad pointed out the time. The others started yawning as if on cue, tidying up and clearing out of the near-empty common room.

Taking one of the best seats by the fire, Vlad smiled to himself. After years as a little brother, it was nice to help younger students rather than be the target of his sisters boredom. He loved Ingrid, and he was certain she loved him too, just let their father poison her into rarely showing it. "You awake still Vlad?" Harry prompted, and Vlad nodded up. "Yeah, just thinking. Mind full of first year work you know." Harry dropped down into the opposite chair, handing Vlad his pumpkin juice flask with a wink that made Vlad's stomach flutter. "Sorry I was a little... secretive, I just don't want anyone else knowing. Professor Lupin said he'll help me learn to fight Dementors after Halloween, he's too busy before then."

Trying to act understanding and not angry on some level that Harry didn't know he was in danger with the werewolf, he countered his own thoughts with what his boggart had become. Harry brought it up too then. "Is your worst fear really hurting me? Or me you know... staking you?" His voice was low enough to be hidden by the crackling flames, kept lit until the common room was totally empty, and there were only two older students finishing a game of Exploding Snap in the corner.

"You're my" he could say it, tell Harry right now he was his mate and Vlad could no sooner hurt him than Bertrand could eat garlic bread " best friend, and I hate what I am. Of course I'm terrified." Swallowing pumpkin juice to clear the lump in his throat, Vlad found himself pulled to his feet and Harry hugging him. "I trust you. Just keep your teeth to yourself." Heart doing backflips, Vlad nodded when Harry released him. "It's getting late, best head up." Following Harry, Vlad shivered inwardly. He wouldn't tell Harry, he couldn't. Then he really would lose his best friend.

-YDHP-

 **Have a nice (little bit) early update!**


	10. Merlin's Legacy

**In case anyone stumbles across it and doesn't believe Dark Serpent Cat has my permission to write their multiverse based fic that was inspired by Chosen Two, I not only gave permission, I helped encourage it. I think. Either way DSC has my go ahead to write about Chosen Two however he likes. It will be a different story to this one. Like chosen two is different to Harry Potter. A fanfic about a fanfic, if you will.**

 **Jon! Glad to see you made it! And you'll just have to trust I know where I am going with the boys, they are still only thirteen. Plenty of time yet!**

 **Warning for very brief, non explicit instance of torture.**

-YDHP-

Vlad was quiet the rest of the evening, and disappeared off with Jacob and Jason almost as soon as he was done poking at his porridge. Harry could guess what was bothering him - the boggart session had had a marked effect on half their dorm. Draco and Neville were both quiet too, Harry surprisingly upbeat about his own - Professor Lupin had promised to help him learn to fight Dementors, so he wouldn't have to suffer from the terrible sounds they made echo in his mind.

"Whatcha doing?" Looking up from the Healing book he was reading, Harry found George Giles and her friend Bella. "Studying for next week. I spent the summer doing homework and studying every morning so I've kind of gotten used to using mornings for learning. And Vlad's off with Jacob and Jason." "Yeah, they were sad because the slytherins were being mean so Vlad offered to take them to Hagrids where nobody would be bothering them." Feeling a little bad for being irritated with his friend, Harry smiled. "Yeah, he would do that. He's probably asked Ingrid to keep an eye on him too. Because nobody argues with Ingrid."

By the time they made it down to lunch, George already deciding every class but History of Magic was her favourite, Vlad and the first year twins were both sat at Gryffindor table. "Anyone has a problem with this can take it up with the Weasley twins." A few glaring students gulped and turned away as Fred and George grinned maniacally, dropping down either side of the first years. "We know Ingrid's cool, so you should be ok too. Just don't go dark side and we won't test any joke products on you. Kidding! Don't hurt us Hermione."

Hermione glared a little harder, then turned back to her food, shaking her head and resuming chatting to Draco about protective vs defensive charms. "Two sets of twins. Two George's. We are doomed!" Seamus tried to dramatically faint, but failed to notice his cup was still in hand and threw tea everywhere with an arc of steaming fluid. In the ensuing leaping out of the way three plates were upended, and by the time Professor McGonogall appeared to demand to know what was going on, Seamus was covered in soup, bread and had splattered half a dozen nearby students.

"I would give you detention, but I think you've suffered enough. Go and get yourself cleaned up Mr Finnegan." She also waved her wand over the nearby mess, vanishing it away as Seamus flushed beet red and disappeared quickly. "Anyone else care for lunchtime dramatics? No? I thought so." McGonogall swept away, leaving her house table giggling into their goblets. Vlad walked Jacob back to Slytherin table, greeting the other first year snakes pleasantly as he did so before sitting Jacob next to Ingrid and obviously saying she should keep an eye on him.

"See? I promise he will be fine." Vlad smiled at Jason, who beamed back. "Thanks Vlad." The first years headed off to explore the school some more with the Weasley twins as a tour guide - probably dangerous but apparently Gryffindor was leading the way in taking care of their new students. They came back for dinner with bright smiles and laughter, talking about how Fred had intentionally fallen over a trick step, and George had fallen through a fake wall screaming loud enough to attract a nearby prefect.

"There was a door that wouldn't open until we tickled it in exactly the right place. This castle is awesome! And we got to visit the owlery, so we could use the school owls to write to our families." "My mum and dad are gonna love that. Still, they want me to enjoy it here so I'm sure they will love hearing how much fun my first week has been." They continued chattering away all the way to the tower, and Harry couldn't help chuckling when they all pulled faces at Percy Weasley saying "I'm head boy!" yet again.

"But that's not what your badge says." Percy looked down, ears burning bright red when he saw his HB badge now read "humongous bighead" and spluttering angrily. "Who did this?" Harry stepped in before he could get too angry, pointing out "no first year could do that." Percy seemed to deflate, then spotted his twin brothers, who jumped up and excused themselves loudly before running from the common room, Percy hot on their heels. "Those two really should be setting a better example." Hermione griped, watching the first years laugh.

"What? They pass their exams with excellent marks. Playing jokes and teasing your siblings happens everywhere. Look at Vlad and Ingrid." Most of the Gryffindor students, particularly in Harry's year, didn't have siblings, except Parvati, Vlad and Seamus. "Hmm. I suppose. Still, antagonizing the prefects and head boy are hardly ideal examples." Harry merely grinned.

"They annoyed Percy before he got a badge, and lets face it, he could do with loosening up a little." "Yeah, he must have a Comet 250 stuck up his-" "Seamus!" Hermione cut him off, but the first years were giggling heartily again. "How many of you have brothers and sisters then?" George quizzed, looking around. "I've got a little sister, and Vlad has Ingrid. Then Parvati has a twin in Ravenclaw... I think thats it in our year." George nodded, turning to the others. "Well I have Jake. But our dad died about six years ago now, and mum hasn't met anyone else since."

Bella replied she was an only child herself, and Matthew had an older brother in Hufflepuff. "I have an older brother, but I've never met him." Everyone looked at George in confusion. "Excuse me?" "My mum got pregnant when she was only eighteen by some guy at a goth festival in Whitby. Her parents made her give him up for adoption, and she met my dad a few months later but he was already adopted by then. So somewhere in the world, I've got an older brother called Adam. Could he be here? Since I'm magical?"

Harry automatically turned to his geekiest friends - Vlad and Hermione. "I guess it's possible. I mean, me and Ingrid don't have magical parents either but I'm not sure how many muggleborn siblings are both magical. Plus if he was adopted at birth, he might not even know." "When he's eighteen, you can access his paperwork and try to look for him. That's my understanding of adoption anyway, maybe you should talk to Professor Burbage." Hermione added on, and quickly answered the question of "who?" with "Muggle Studies professor."

"Maybe. Anyway, we should get up to bed soon, it's getting late and we have Transfiguration first thing. Can't be late!" Vlad disappeared to shower before bed, and Harry sat hissing quietly to Lily on his bed. "You're getting bigger." "As are you wizard. Even the furball is growing a little." Phantom huffed and flicked her tail over on Vlad's bed, then leapt over to Harry's to paw at Lily's head. "Desist furry one." Given Lily's lethality, Harry knew the snake didn't really mind or Phantom would know about it.

"Is Phantom being a menace again?" "No more than usual." Vlad chuckled as he grabbed hold of Phantom, who noticed a stray water drop on his face and craned her neck to lick it off. "I have had a wash, thank you you little pest." Phantom mewled, waiting for Vlad to sit on his bed before curling up on his chest. "Well I'm going nowhere. Night guys." Vlad waved his wand to close his curtains, a faint grayish glow lighting around them as he silenced his curtains for the night. Hissing goodnight to Lily, Harry pulled off his glasses and settled down for the night himself.

 _"Brother, no!" "Sorrow, you have shamed our noble family. First consorting with that muggle, then breeding with it!" The girl cowered, dark hair damp with sweat and blueish grey eyes full of fear. Her mouth opened in a scream as she fell beneath her brothers wand, jerking and twisting in unseen agony. "Tell me where she is!" "N-n-never." Sorrow spat out blood, fear diluted by defiance. "I will find her, and erase the evidence of your indiscretions. Spare yourself, have a merciful death Sorrow. Tell me."_

 _Sorrow staggered to her feet, limbs still twitching with the after effects of the torture curse as she glared at her older brother Salazar. His beard was short, cropped and dark and his entire presence radiated nobility and power. Sorrow, by contrast, looked relatively indistinguishable from most, except the blood dripping from her mouth and her bedraggled appearance. "Remember your own indiscretions **brother** , I certainly do. I'll never tell you where she is. I'll die first. And you know it." " **Crucio!** " She dropped again, screaming and writhing but no __words were tortured out of her about the whereabouts of her daughter._

 _Salazar lowered his wand again, looking at his sister dispassionately. He had once cared for her, protected her, loved her, even forgiven her for dating a half-blood in her youth. But this, marrying and mating with a muggle, diluting their noble magical blood with such **disregard** , he could not abide this. "I wish things had been different." Sorrow, whole body wracked with pain and blood dripping from her ears, nose and mouth now, bruises scattered up and down her exposed skin from thrashing on the floor, forced her eyes up to her brother who towered over her prone form. "I forgive you Salazar." " **Avada Kedavra!** "_

Harry bolted upright, feeling cold sweat pour down his chilled skin. "Wizard? What is wrong?" Lily hissed from her tank, watching as Harry scrabbled for the glass of water on his bedside and taking a long swallow. "Nightmare. I think." He hoped, at least. Though he hadn't even been thinking about Salazar Slytherin or his 'heritage' much that day, so he wasn't sure what set it off. His scar was aching somewhat, not a drop in the bucket compared to some of the times it had hurt, but a dull throb in the lightning bolt was there all the same.

"Harry?" Vlad's sleep-roughened voice sounded outside his curtains, the side opening to reveal Vlad rubbing his eyes. "You were sort of... I don't know, crying almost. Are you ok?" Harry shrugged, slipping off his bed and hunting for a clean t-shirt. Vlad followed him to the bathroom, but politely turned around while Harry stripped off the sweat soaked top and splashed cold water over himself. "Scourgify." A whispered incantation from Vlad removed the sweat from his skin, another cooling charm making him less clammy. "Thanks. You can turn around now." The clean t-shirt on and the sweaty one in the laundry basket, Harry rubbed at his forehead.

Vlad looked at him oddly, sleep still fuzzy on the edges of his expression. "Your scar looks red. Does it hurt?" Harry nodded, and Vlad's fingers traced the scar. It was kind of weird, but the ice-cold relief Vlad seemed to have a power for made Harry stop caring as the pain receded. "So, what happened?" "Just a nightmare. How did you even hear me? You silenced your curtains.'

Vlad's fingers stopped for a second, but then continued and his face didn't give anything away. "Went to the loo. Don't worry, I washed my hands." Vlad offered a small smile, brushing Harry's fringe aside to look at the scar again. "Doesn't look so red now, does it feel better?" "Yeah, barely hurts now. Thanks." Vlad was a little taller than Harry now, only an inch or so but just enough to be noticable as they faced each other. It was a little too intense, the way Vlad seemed to look right through him at times and Harry blinked it away before turning back towards the dorm. "I'm gonna try and get back to sleep. Thanks Vlad."

He thought he heard a sigh, but the sound was gone before he was sure and Vlad patted his shoulder awkwardly before disappearing behind his own bedcurtains again. His best friend was a little odd, Harry mused. But he never judged Harry, just helped even when it was the middle of the night. Sometimes Harry felt like he didn't deserve Vlad, but Vlad didn't seem to agree and Harry wasn't going to insult the boy who had risked detention, expulsion, prison and even his life for Harry by refusing his friendship.

Lily coiled around his wrist, hissing worriedly until Harry reassured her he was fine. "Go to sleep Lily, I will tell you about it tomorrow ok? I'm tired." "Fine. You had better wizard." Chuckling as his familiar let him put her back in her tank, Harry stretched and repeated the cleaning charm Vlad had done to remove the damp sweat from his bed. Followed by a drying charm, as he overpowered it and slightly soapy water pooled in his bed. Dry and clean again, back down and stared up at the canopy. There was no way his dream was what really happened... He couldn't be related to that, surely.

* * *

His mate letting him touch him, touch the scar so many idolized because he knew Vlad didn't see 'the boy who lived', it made his heart skip. Whatever made his scar hurt seemed to be muted by Vlad's touch, like the mate bond lying almost dormant inside him could override whatever lingering magic caused his mate pain. So long as it worked, Vlad was happy. Whatever was giving Harry nightmares did not make him happy, but short of forcing Harry to talk or drugging him with dream less sleep every night - a bad idea, they were addictive and had bad effects used long term - all he could do was help deal with the aftermath.

Harry asking how Vlad had heard him almost caught him short, because his curtains were still silenced and he had been in bed, but instinctively knew Harry needed him and it had dragged him back to consciousness. The scent of _mate_ still filling his lungs, Vlad hugged a pillow to his chest and ignored the aching emptiness that followed whenever Harry withdrew from him. He had felt the intense moment too, wishing he had any idea whether or not Harry would ever see him that way, wishing Harry would surprise him and just kiss him and the world would be perfect for those precious brief seconds... Wiping away a couple of tears, Vlad forced himself back to sleep.

Arithmancy was a welcome distraction, because numbers didn't care he was a pre teen vampire pining for its mate, they just sat there waiting to be solved and there was _always_ a right answer. Which made a huge difference to the rest of his life lately, he mused. Outside Transfiguration, seeing George and the others reminded him of their conversation before about her brother she had never met. Ingrid had been part of his entire life, he couldn't imagine _not_ knowing his sister. He really hoped she could find him in the future. She was a sweet kid, her brother would be lucky to know her.

Care of Magical Creatures was massively underwhelming after being mauled by a Hippogriff, because they were just taking care of flobberworms - lazy, sluggish creatures that needed next to no intervention. Vlad tried to soothe the teacher, but every time he tried to talk to Hagrid the Slytherins would re-enact his being attacked loud and exaggerated, which never failed to make Hagrid lose the thread of what he was saying. If Crabbe fell into the flobberworm slime box meant for Potions, and spent the next week reeking of it regardless of baths, cleaning charms or scent potions... Well, Vlad hadn't tripped him on purpose.

Something was bothering Bertrand, Vlad was sure of it. Even during their private sessions, Bertrand was quieter than usual. And given the vampire wasn't known for being chatty anyway, it was a little unnerving. When Vlad tried to ask, Bertrand would gently but firmly deter him from the topic. And since Vlad didn't know if it was to do with Ingrid, or mates, he physically couldn't ask. But then, Ingrid could no sooner tell Harry, which she would given half a chance. The saving grace of a mate bond - the choice to keep it from the mate.

"So, how did you learn to do this?" Bella asked, the first years joining Vlad, Harry and Hermione around the bluebell flames to warm their hands outside one Saturday. "Reading." "Hermione reads everything. She had memorised all our textbooks before we started. I mean, I read them but memorizing was a little much for me." He expected Hermione would have complained, but then a small sort of smile crossed her face and Vlad spotted Draco sat chatting to Neville, overlooking the hill that led down to the rest of the grounds. Wondering when the two of them would get some sense and admit they were both crushing like crazy, the better.

"Have you been to Hogsmeade yet?" Jason piped in with "We went once with mum, a friend of hers used to live in the housing complex nearby" as the third years shook their heads. "First visit is the nearest weekend to Halloween each year. For us, it's actually Halloween I think." Vlad nodded in agreement, mind dreading Halloween already. It was around the full moon, and there would be a VHC member visiting Hogwarts to administer Vlad and Ingrid's blood tests. All in all, it just didn't feel like a good time to be approaching.

Jacob and Jason both started laughing, pointing to where Ingrid was hexing some fourth year Slytherins who were glaring over at their group. "They'll learn. And be sure to lead by example - be nice to all the houses. Anyone gives you trouble, come see us. How are the other first year Slytherins?" Jacob shrugged, fiddling with one of the tassels on his green and silver scarf. "Quiet. I don't think Curtis was expecting to end up in Slytherin either, his brother is in Ravenclaw, sixth year. Astoria is just like her sister from what I see. Paul seems ok, more interested in being top of our class than anything else. But it's early days I guess. I mean, were you guys best friends in the first month?"

The trio shared a look, shaking their heads. "Me and Harry met on the train and were friends pretty fast I guess, but took a near death experience to be friends with Hermione. Draco and Seamus weren't buddies early on either, but now our dorm gets on pretty well as a whole. Just... Be nice to each other, look out for each other. Houses won't matter when we leave here, the kind of person you are will." The first years all looked super serious, taking in the message and then grinning. "Enough heavy stuff, check this out!"

The twins and George backed up, standing a little distance away from each other and pulling their wands. " _ **Spongify!**_ " The softening-bouncy charm gave the grass between them a slightly gelationous look, and the three eleven year olds leapt onto it, promptly pitched about thirty feet in the air. Their joyful screams attracted most of the courtyards attention, and suddenly they had a dozen children in a mix of house colours bouncing on the charmed ground. Vlad kept an eye on them and the charm, making sure nobody got seriously injured.

Their bounces grew smaller and smaller as the charm wore down, and then ended completely as they all dropped to their feet safely (with perhaps a little help from Vlad). "That was awesome! Magical trampoline!" Recognising Alex McCauley, Malcolm McDonald and Zachary Arden from the sorting, Vlad smiled and they introduced themselves. "You're Harry Potter!" Harry managed not to scowl at the recognition, nodding and shaking the hand of the hero-worship looking boy. "That's me. Nice to meet you Malcolm." Jacob somehow dragged one of the other Slytherin boys over, introducing him as Curtis Cadmus.

"Are you really Ingrid Dracula's brother? You don't seem much alike." This boy didn't know they would both become members of the living dead club, he supposed. "Oh, you would be surprised. How are you finding Hogwarts?" Curtis shrugged, not quite meeting his eyes. "It's ok. A lot to take in and my parents were a little... offset by my house placement." Beckoning Jacob and Curtis aside, Vlad tried to pacify their deeprooted concerns. "Slytherin is not an evil place. You were placed there because the hat saw qualities in you like ambition and resourcefulness. Those aren't negative things to be. If anything, it means you have the potential to prove everyone who doubts you for being a snake wrong. Alright?"

"But Salazar Slytherin was bad. Didn't agree with muggle borns learning magic." "He lived over a thousand years ago. People have learnt since then. So long as you don't buy the blood purity superiority, you'll be fine. In fact, you'll be brilliant. Want to know a secret? I mean, really really secret?" The two leaned in, eyes like saucers - what Vlad was telling them wasn't truly secret, but little known enough it would probably pacify the boys. "Merlin himself was sorted into Slytherin, and he believed wizards should help muggles, live in peace with them. Look him up in the library if you don't believe me."

That fact seemed to cement the fact they could be in Slytherin _and_ be good, hurrying off to join their friends again. "What was that about?" Harry quizzed as they headed back in for dinner. "Telling them how Merlin was a Slytherin and he didn't hate muggles or follow Slytherins ideology. Seemed to work quite well." Harry 'ahh-ed' in understanding - he had been the one Vlad was helping research Slytherin for, in light of his ancestry. "Yeah, helped me too. Good old Merlin."

October crept up on Vlad almost without warning, realising he had only a few weeks to prepare for his second blood test, while Ingrid was preparing for her final one, the most difficult. "What was Sebastian the Cruel's world record for most blood drunk in one sitting?" Vlad sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. "Three hundred and... Ninety four peasants? Didn't he get really bad blood poisoning from it? Not to mention that must have been hell on his waistline, he would have needed a new coffin!" Bertrand rolled his eyes, closing the book. "Go, we aren't getting anywhere fast with you falling asleep."

Vlad closed his own book, stifling a yawn in his hand. "Does this examiner know I'm the chosen one?" "No, and it is imperative he not find out if you wish to stay at Hogwarts. The VHC accept the existence of Magical vampires, but you would be taken out of here and given private tutelage by other, older magical vampires. Likely from Durmstrang and other places less concerned with morals or your mate. So do not let on if you want to continue schooling here." Gulping, Vlad nodded. Being taken away from Harry? Never.

-YDHP-

 **Almost didn't realise this was due to be updated today. Whoops!**


	11. Discontent and Dreaming

**Back again? I see that you, like so many before you, have discovered the delights of the story Chosen Two... I trust by now, you realise I'm evil to our boys.**

 **Jon - I agree it's not THAT weird but Harry had very little experience with physical contact before so I just imagine him finding Vlad being so touchy with him a little odd at times? As for George... You'll find out in the future won't you? Hehehe**

 **Also, have an early update because I had a surge of inspiration.**

-YDHP-

 _Sorrow looked down at her daughter, Solace. Named because she was the light that came out of the darkness for her. Artan, her husband, looked down at the girl too. "It doesn't matter where she came from. What Salazar did was unforgivable, but I promise this girl is my daughter as much as if I had sired her myself." The solid grey eyes gave no doubt as to who biologically fathered her, but Solace smiled toothily and tapped Sorrow on the cheek, gurgling happily. Placing her down, Solace toddled over to her pile of toys and started chewing on a snake plush toy, occasionally making hissing sounds that were clearly Parseltongue._

 _"I hope she never has to know. I never want her to bear the blame for it. Or feel as though she should." Artan slipped an arm around her waist, holding her close. "With you for a mother, I don't doubt for a moment she will turn out as spectacular as you. Strong and smart, and certain she has two parents who love her." Artan had an attitude centuries before his time, accepting the child not biologically his, and not considering her brothers actions anything but reprehensible. Many would think what Salazar had done forgivable, justifiable even for Sorrow loving a human, pure and unmagical but loving and fiercely protective of 'both his girls'._

 _"Dada!" That had been her first word, minus the garbled attempts at parselmouth she had inherited from her father - Sorrow had no such ability. The scene faded away, to be replaced by something some three years later. Solace still carried the steely grey eyes, but her hair was long, braided cutely and she smiled just like her mother. "Look mother, I found another one!" She held up a small snake, bright green stripes along it's scales and a clearly relaxed attitude as Solace hissed gently to it. "Well done dear."_

 _Artan placed dinner down for Solace, then smiled fondly at the snake. "Shall I fetch your new friend a snake meal?" "Yes father, he says he's hungry." Artan rolled his eyes, lifting a small chunk of raw meat from a basket and placing it next to Solace's plate. Sorrow ensured everything was all packed up, her daughters favourite doll and clothes placed in a magically expanded children's cloth backpack, various other essentials in a somewhat ragged looking trunk that held far more than the proportions would show._

 _"I'm not happy leaving you alone my love." "I can defend myself, you need to get our daughter away." They were talking in hushed tones, away from their daughters eager ears. "And you are certain it will be soon?" "Positive. I know my brother. With the growing prestige of that school, and his well known attitude to our marriage, he will not want any loose ends left. You must take Solace, and keep her safe. If nothing else, I can buy you both enough time, and there is nobody else I trust with our little girl. Keep her safe Artan, I will find you both. I promise."_

 _Artan shook his head, thick brown curls trembling with the motion. "Do you think he knows?' "He's never been anywhere near Solace, and I intend it to stay that way. She isn't his. She's yours. Now make sure you're packed my love, when she's done eating I'll place the temporary charms needed on her. That will enable you to travel quickly." Her husband kissed her, soft and soothing and full of love._

 _Solace finished her dinner, placing the newest snake friend back out in the grass. Kissing her forehead, Sorrow slid the only heirloom she had around her daughters neck - it was a necklace her mother had given her as a girl, an ornate locket with emeralds following the loose shape of an S. Casting a sleep charm, then a temporary lightening charm on her daughter, Artan picked her up with one hand, her little bag on her back and the trunk handle clutched in the other. Fighting tears as Sorrow was certain she would never see her daughter again, she kissed her husband and pointed him._

 _"Out the back. My brother loves nothing more than making an entrance. I'll lift the ward as soon as you reach it. Go. Protect our daughter. I love you." Artan left, sadness and fear in his face as he left. Sensing him reach the ward, hidden amongst the ring of trees surrounding their small cottage, Sorrow lifted the ward that kept almost every living creature out - it was necessary._

 _Placing her wand in a box, placing it in another box full of letters and lifting a loose floorboard up to hide it, she felt another shift in the air, the quiet 'pop' of her brother apparating nearby, she stood firm. Salazar would not find Solace, and Sorrow would not beg the monster her brother had become for anything. If she was going down, she was going down proud and protecting her daughter._

 _The door rattled once, twice, then was blasted off it's hinges. Salazar stepped through the dusty cloud, scanning the whole building with a spell and hissing angrily. "Where is the girl?" "I won't tell you. You'll have to kill me first." Salazar raised his wand, eyeing her empty hands and smirking coldly. "We'll see."_

Bile was thick in his throat when he jolted awake, looking around in confusion as there was nobody around him after the all-too-realistic dream. Shivering and sweating, Lily flicked her tongue against his wrist. "Wizard, why do you continue these bad dreams?" "Not a choice Lily, and they don't happen every night so I'm not taking dreamless sleep." Lily rolled her eyes, or as close as a snake could to that. "You are a difficult one master. Perhaps talk to the vampire about your dreams?" Lily often encouraged him to talk to Vlad, but Harry wasn't going to wake Vlad because of a nightmare.

"No. I'm gonna go back to sleep, you stop bugging me." Lily huffed, stretching out across his bed and laying her head on the top of his arm. "Irritating wizard." "Matches my irritating familiar, go to sleep Lily." He got an unintelligible hiss in response, Lily's tail flicking occasionally as she dozed. Harry didn't find his way back to sleep, and Vlad looked surprisingly unrested himself. "What's up Vlad?" "Couldn't sleep. Happens." he mumbled in reply as he passed to the bathroom.

Shrugging, Harry dressed and headed to the common room, finding himself greeted by the first years. "Hey guys, how's your first month been?" "Awesome! Magic is so cool!" The youngest Gryffindors were some of the most excitable Harry had ever met, endlessly energetic about Hogwarts. "Time for breakfast!" Harry followed the charging children bemusedly, hurrying through a plate of sausage and eggs and heading to the library before Vlad had even made it to breakfast. Madam Pince looked suspicious of him being there so early on a Saturday, but mostly ignored him as he trawled for books on the four founders.

Hiding neatly in an alcove with a pile of them, Harry scanned for information on Salazar Slytherin. There were a few references to him having a son, one or two about his wife dying of a mishap with poison - given the man's expertise in Potions, Harry was instantly suspicious - but zero on his sister, or the daughter he had apparently had with her. Though if his dream were true, Salazar never knew Solace was his. Shuddering at the memory, he shoved the books aside.

Vlad was sat in the library, head buried in "Advanced Arithmancy" and a sheet of parchment full of complicated-looking equations in front of him. "What are you doing?" The boy vampire didn't even flinch, as though he wasn't surprised Harry was there. Maybe it was a vampire thing. "Studying a few spells, it's my favourite part of Arithmancy, but we only cover really simple stuff until fifth year." He didn't even look up, continuing to scrawl out more equations as though Harry wasn't even there. Shrugging to himself, Harry made sure his books were all back and headed out.

It was raining outside, so Harry wandered the hallways, wondering what to do with himself. "Harry?" Turning, he saw Professor Lupin. "Hey professor." Lupin indicated his head to invite Harry in, producing a tea tray. "Thanks." "So, how are you finding third year Harry?" Shrugging, Harry sipped at his tea. "Busy. Especially with Quidditch and my two new classes, but then Vlad's taking three and has his private tutor sessions so I guess I can't complain."

Lupin sat back, looking over at a tank on his desk and tapping the glass. "What is that?" It was small, and mostly looked to be made out of cloudy fog. And only had one leg. "Hinkypunk. Not terribly dangerous, except they like to lure travellers into bogs. See the lantern?" It did have a little lantern glowing in one of its hands. Not that it really had distinguishable hands, just more fog that resembled arms.

"Harry, I wanted to talk to you about your friend Vlad." "Oh?" Placing his empty cup down, Harry straightened up. "Do you really think it advisable, being friends with a vampire?" "You saw his boggart, his greatest fear is that I will turn on him for that exact thing." Vlad wasn't dangerous, Harry was sure. "He's still a dark creature, he will still crave human blood. He's dangerous Harry, your parents would be horrified."

That was a low blow. "What would you know about them?" "I went to school with your parents. I shared a dormitory with your father for six years. He was head boy seventh year, so he moved out then. And your mother... Your mother Lily was one of my closest friends. She was a talented witch, and an uncommonly kind person." Draco hadn't mentioned Remus Lupin when he talked about Black and Pettigrew being friends with his father, but maybe he didn't know.

"Wait. That means you were with Black? And Pettigrew at Hogwarts?" Lupin stiffened, but nodded. "Yes. I lost all four of my friends in one night. Sirius to Azkaban, and the others dead." A pang of sympathy overrode everything for a moment, pain and grief shining in the strangely amber-yellow eyes. "What were they like? I've not met many people who knew them." Suddenly, Harry was hungry for information.

"Many were lost in the wizarding war. James was... James was James. A prankster, a bit of a flirt, a little full of himself when it came to Quidditch but the most pure hearted man I have ever known. Sirius was... I never expected him to be capable of what he did. Peter Pettigrew was a shy, almost clingy boy, adored James and Sirius like heroes. And Lily Evans, Lily was intelligent and powerful, putting paid to many doubts about Muggle borns." Harry knew otherwise, but there was no way he was sharing that.

"We were very good friends. She saw the good in everyone, even when, and possibly most importantly, when they couldn't see it in themselves. They loved you dearly Harry, the day Lily told James she was pregnant was one of the happiest days of his life. I remember because he accidentally knocked over a cauldron in his exuberant joyful leaping around, cheering." Lupin chuckled to himself at the memory, a hint of unshed tears in his eyes and Harry found himself smiling.

"What were their best subjects? Did my mum like flying? Were you around when I was a baby?" Desperate need to know his parents surged, this professor in front of him having known them through Hogwarts. Lupin poured more tea, then launched into some detailed accounts of the jokes James Potter had pulled at school their first year, and the way Lily Evans had always been there to tell him off for it. By lunchtime, Harry was in fits of laughter, wiping tears of amusement from his eyes as they both stood. "They really turned McGonogalls office into a giant cat toy room?" "Complete with scratch post and litter tray. That was one of their longest runs of detention." Chuckling, Harry felt lighter, happier.

"Can we... Will you tell me more about them some time?" Lupin nodded, then stopped. "If you promise me something. Please consider what your friend will become." Harry agreed immediately, desperate to hear more. "I will. Thank you professor." "Remus, when we are here at least Harry. Your father would turn in his grave hearing you call me professor in private." Nodding, Harry managed to get out "thanks pro- Remus." before heading out for lunch.

Vlad wasn't there, but sometimes he ate in the kitchens or in their dorm when he was particularly lost in a book or essay. He had almost forgotten that it was Quidditch that afternoon, remembering only when Wood interrupted his lasagna to tell Harry to hurry to the stands aa soon as he was done eating. Still lifted by the happy morning with Remus Lupin, Harry bounced along to the changing rooms and pulled on his Quidditch robes. "Hufflepuff don't stand a chance Oliver, relax!" Angelina tried to soothe their nervous captain. "This is my" "last chance at the cup. We know." "Because Harry was unconscious. And then it was cancelled because of the danger and dead student stuff."

Wood glared at the Weasley twins, then finished fastening his protective gear. "Its cloudy out, visibility isn't great." That was aimed at Harry, with his glasses he wished he could ditch, but the weird snake vision stuff was not yet under control. "I'm good. Let's go!" Picking up his broom, Harry saddled up and they soared into the air. Hufflepuff Captain was Cedric Diggory, also their seeker and a good couple of stone heavier than Harry. Normally seekers were light and agile, but as Harry noted the wind picking up, he knew Diggory had an advantage in bulk as he would be less likely to get blown off course.

Flying around as the stands finished filling, many students already clutching umbrellas readily, he spotted Vlad sat next to the other Gryffindor boys. Was Lupin right? Could Vlad become dangerous? Shaking the thought away, he noticed Madam Hooch stood next to the trunk containing the Quidditch balls. Game on.

Turning his Nimbus around, Harry scanned the skies. Visibility was down, and the thunder rolling through the clouds was followed by the start of rain, which thickened fast as he flew. His skin was icy, soaked already as a small pitter patter became freezing sheets of water and lightning flared. Squinting through his rain covered glasses, Harry could have sworn he saw a huge black dog in one of the empty stands, but the next bolt of lightning showed nothing.

Spotting a momentary flash of gold, he shifted directions to aim for it. Already cold, he didn't immediately notice until the chill penetrated his chest, making his heart feel sluggish, heavy and screams started filling his mind. Numb hands slipped on the broom handle, then his body seemed to tip and Harry knew no more.

* * *

Harry had been... maybe not avoiding him, but almost off with him that morning, and rather than his usual habit of joining Vlad to read quietly, he had disappeared. It was inadvisable when he was trying to suppress the mate bond, but he couldn't help focusing on it, using it to find his mate. The smell of werewolf lingering in the hallway told him this was Professor Lupin's office - Harry was with the werewolf _again._ Unable to face Harry reeking of werewolf with his instincts screaming, Vlad dropped by the kitchens for a snack and hid in the dorm again.

"Coming to Quidditch Vladdo?" Seamus dragged him out of his blissful lost-in-a-book reverie, and Vlad realised that meant Harry flying. He loved and hated watching Harry in equal measure. "Yeah, hold on." Digging out his Gryffindor scarf and gloves, he pulled on a winter cloak and followed the others out. Harry was already up in the air, that look he only got on his broom on his face - peaceful, content. If only he looked like that at him. Shaking the thought away, he could feel the rain in the air though it wasn't out yet.

"The quaffle is released, and the game begins!" Whatever charm was used on the megaphone, it seemed almost weak against the thunder beginning to fill the air. Eyes fixed on Harry, Vlad watched as the rain came down, lightning crackling through the sky and many drenched players swooping through the air. Hermione shared her umbrella with him, and both cast 'impervius' charms over their clothes to help keep some of the moisture out of the thick woolen cloaks they had on.

The temperature seemed to plummet in the space of a few seconds, and Vlad felt the same cold ache in his chest as Harry screaming filled his head. Then the memory of his boggart, Harry lying lifeless beneath his fangs followed, and Vlad would have missed what came next if Hermione hadn't screamed. Harry was falling, dropping like a bat in a cave in through the air and his heart stopped, his muscles frozen solid. All of a sudden, Harry seemed to slow before hitting the ground, and his body finally snapped to reality as he bolted down the wooden staircase, needing to get to his mate.

The dementors were swarming the field, but Vlad had eyes only for Harry and threw himself to the ground in front of him, hoping to at least distract the foul creatures. A couple of bright white lights sliced neatly through the swarm, and the cold screams started to ebb away. Spotting Professor Dumbledore, Bertrand and McGonogall, he relaxed a little and realised a second beforehand that he was about to faint.

When his eyes opened again, he recognised the hospital wing, confused for a second before bolting up. The Gryffindor Quidditch team and their dorm mates were crowded around another bed, and Vlad made to get up but found himself held down by a hand he discovered was Bertrand's. "Slow down. He's alive. That was brave, and stupid. You could have died out there." "So could Harry. Is he ok?" Trying to get up again, his tutor shook his head and pushed Vlad horizontal again. "Stay. He will be fine."

Pretending to acquiesce, Vlad went lax until the hand moved, then jumped up and moved to Harry's bed. His mate was pale, wet and mud streaked, his broken glasses next to the bed but he was _alive._ "Vladdo! You're alright. Ingrid was doing her nut, said she was going to smack you silly for being such an idiot." Chuckling for show, Vlad continued looking at Harry. "Is he ok?" "Yes, yes, he will be fine. Everyone out! Except you Mr Dracula, you need checking up on. Miss Granger, go and take a seat, you look in need of a pepper up." Madam Pomfrey scattered the others, leaving Harry with just Vlad and Hermione stood over him - Hermione didn't move, it was just a cover.

"How do you feel Vlad?" "Fine. The impervius charm kept me mostly clean and dry. What were the dementors doing there anyway?" Bertrand moved over to them then to explain without shouting across the hospital wing. "Professor Dumbledore sent them straight off, he was extremely angry. They haven't been able to feed, relegated only to the gates. A Quidditch match, anticipation and eager joy and exhilarated fear... It was a feast they couldn't resist." Harry started stirring then, looking around and rubbing his eyes.

"What happened?" "Dementors. How do you feel?" It might have been his imagination, but Harry seemed to almost back away from Vlad, as much as someone lay on a bed could do so. "Sore. What happened in the match?" Hermione grimaced, and Vlad realised she was clutching a large bundle. "Diggory caught the snitch. He didn't realise right away, and when he did he wanted a rematch but there's no rule to change they won. There's... there's another thing." Hermione dropped the bundle on the bed, and Vlad realised why Bertrand hadn't been the one holding it - it was full of splintered wood.

"When you fell, your broom sort of... flew into the whomping willow. And well, it doesn't really like to be hit." Harry reached over to the pile, and Vlad knew a bolt of pure, icy fear when he saw Harry's hand around a jagged, pointed piece of wood. "My broom..." "Draco said you can borrow his if you don't have chance to order a new one for the next match." Hermione added quickly, but Vlad knew the broom meant something to Harry - flying was one of those things he was good at regardless of his status or ancestry or powers, he was just an excellent seeker.

"Tell him thanks, I guess." Madam Pomfrey shooed them both off to check Harry over, and after another couple of spells and a bar of chocolate almost crammed down his throat, Vlad was declared free to go. Harry didn't ask him to stay, so he had no cause to and forced himself to bid Bertrand goodbye and follow Hermione to a late dinner. His stomach was in knots though, barely a forkful of rice making it into his mouth before he gave up. He did wave over at Ingrid on his way out so she knew he was ok, then went back to Gryffindor Tower.

Showering the residual mud and hospital smell off of him, Vlad crawled into his pyjamas and was neatly hidden behind his bedcurtains before his dorm mates were back. Phantom pawed at his face, then indicated her tail at Lily who was wrapped around one of the posts of his bed. "Tell her Harry is fine, just being checked over since he fell like a hundred feet." A conversation of completely unintelligible hissing and mewling followed, making Vlad's head hurt as the two kept on.

"Harry! You're alright. And escaped Madam Pomfrey without an overnight stay." "Yeah, well she said I just needed rest now and I can get that here without hospital pyjamas on. Where's Lily gone?" Said snake shifted, sticking her head out of the curtains and her body slowly uncoiled as she went to Harry. Sighing quietly to himself, Vlad listened in as the others asked what had happened, then asked if he had noticed Vlad jumping in front of the dementors for him.

"He did that?" "Yeah, that's why he was in the hospital wing too. Didn't he tell you?" Harry didn't answer verbally, but Vlad could picture him shrugging half-heartedly while rifling through his trunk for pyjamas before he went for a bath. "Have you two had a row? Did he take his shirt off and blind you or something?" "Seamus, why are you so obsessed with Vlad topless? You seeking for the home team?" "Don't be disgusting!" Listening with bated breath, it was Draco who's voice defended him. "Come on guys, being gay is normal in the wizarding world." "Eh. Still weird. Why look at boys when girls like Ingrid exist?" He heard Dean make a sound of agreement, fingers twisting in his pillow as he heard them essentially mock his sexuality.

"I'm going for a long hot bath, please change the subject by the time I get back." Vlad heard the bathroom door close, wrestling with himself on whether he really _needed_ to look at Harry - he could hear he was fine now. Forcing himself to maintain the illusion he was sleeping, lest he look like an eavesdropping sneak to his dorm mates, Vlad couldn't entirely settle until he heard Harry come back and say goodnight to the others, even recognising the specific creak Harry's bedsprings made (and wasn't that a little creepy?) as his mate lay down, a few quiet hisses leaving Harry's mouth as he no doubt said goodnight to Lily.

Had he upset Harry somehow? Analysing his behaviour and Harry's, it definitely seemed to be a recent shift. Wiping a couple of treacherous tears from his cheeks, Vlad rolled onto his side, ran a hand through Phantoms soft fur and smiled a little when she nuzzled up under his chin, one paw resting on his collarbone and she seemed perfectly content to sleep in that odd position. "Daft little thing." he thought to himself, closing his eyes and hoping whatever was going on between he and Harry, he could fix.

-YDHP-

 **Yay for early updates?**


	12. Locket Mysteries

**Been watching HP3 for inspiration, laughing at Dumbledore stalling for time with strawberries and signing his 'very long name'. Ah, Dumbles.**

 **Percy Powerful - don't worry, I seem to have confused a few there. Solace is Sorrow and Salazar's daughter, but she doesn't know that and neither does Salazar. To her, the muggle Artan is her father. I'm not sure where you got her being Lily from - Salazar and Sorrow are from the time of the founders. I do have such things noted down for Vlad, but haven't wanted to detract from Harry's dreams yet.**

 **Jon - Vlad will find out, of course. Doesn't mean it'll be any time soon though! Hehe. Your reviews are not mindless drivel! I look forward to each and every one.**

-YDHP-

Harry was already gone when he woke up, unusual as Vlad was often the first up in their dorm, all the better to take advantage of his body not demanding night time and blood yet. Sighing, he shoved his gloves, scarf and cloak into his bag, Vlad ducked into the kitchens for breakfast and took a ridiculous amount of snack food - he had asked for something easy to transport for lunch, and ended up with enough for a week. Though they did place it into a basket for him, making Vlad feel like he was taking himself for a picnic.

"Hey Vlad! What are you doing?" George was sat with the twins playing gobstones, a game he could never bring himself to play since the first time one spat in his face - the losers punishment. "Just going for a walk." "Didn't you almost die yesterday? You should be recovering." Raising an eyebrow, he realised they may well have seen him getting swarmed by dementors trying to protect Harry. "I'm fine, I had some chocolate and got a good sleep."

He did smile a little to himself - George had clearly taken the Slytherins aren't all bad on board, looking at ease with the boys he could only tell apart because they were wearing different coloured scarves and gloves. Even more so when the other Slytherin boy he had spoken properly to, Curtis, came out to join them. He had obviously taken longer to finish breakfast - there was still jam on his face. Turning to continue on his 'trip' around the grounds, he stopped at the voices of Crabbe and Goyle. "Looksie, ickle lions and confused snakes. Why did we get such a naff bunch this year?"

"Go away, we're not doing anything to bother you." Knowing he couldn't leave them to get picked on by third years, he accepted he wasn't going anywhere soon and turned back. The boys both faltered slightly at the sight of Vlad, but kept on trying to harass the four eleven year olds, kicking at their gobstones and advancing. Barely remembering to pull his wand since they were in public, Vlad quickly whispered " ** _impedimenta!_** " stopping the two boys dead. Winking at the first years, Vlad levitated the stiff boys until they were hanging upside down, then lifted the Impediment jinx.

"I've told you before, pick on someone your own size. Not easy when you eat half of the great hall everyday, granted" that set the younger students off giggling, and they were attracting a crowd of sorts "but four eleven year olds playing gobstones just makes you look pathetic. Now get lost." They dropped to the floor heavily, tangled up in their cloaks before scrambling to escape.

Patting Jason and Jacob on the shoulders reassuringly, Vlad smiled. "Don't let them tell you you can't be friends boys. And girl" George grinned "but those two have the brain capacity of a flobberworm, don't let them threaten you." Curtis snorted, laughing to himself in the direction of the shrinking backs of Crabbe and Goyle.

"What on earth is going on here?" McGonogall and Snape had obviously spotted the crowd, but most of the older Slytherins had dispersed by now. "Nothing Professor, just a friendly game of gobstones." Both being the Heads of House for half of the foursome each, Snape and McGonogall eyed the game, Vlad stood nearby hastily pocketing his wand but nobody nearby looked injured so they nodded stiffly. "Very well. Mr Dracula, a word."

This much of a crowd, and it usually took Crabbe and Goyle a week to reload on brain power enough to pick anothet fight, Vlad followed his head of house back into the castle, stopping in an empty store room off the Entrance Hall. "What was really going on out there?" Shuffling nervously, Vlad shrugged. "Some of the older Slytherins were picking on Jacob and Curtis for being friends with Gryffindors. I was just passing by, I was planning to go for a walk."

She surveyed him for a moment or two, then apparently decided he was telling the truth and nodded. "Five points for protecting younger students. Do try not to get caught duelling in the courtyard Vlad. Off you go." Fighting not to smile at the professor, Vlad hurried off. McGonogall was a good person, however stern she acted. And however much she smelled like cats. That was far preferable to Harry smelling like werewolf again, evidently having spent the morning with Lupin. Not the evening though - the first full moon of Autumn was tonight, the second would be Halloween.

Twitching anxiously, Vlad spent the afternoon reviewing his homework and helping the first years again. Draco asked if he was ok, seeing Vlad not going to dinner nor had he been at breakfast. "I'm fine. Got food from the elves earlier and I want to make sure my Arithmancy is right. Go on, I'm fine. Promise." His friend looked thoroughly unconvinced, and once the dorm was empty Vlad pulled out his revision book for his upcoming blood test. Reminded again of how much he didn't want to be a vampire, cursed with the mate bond to a wizard who didn't like boys, and apparently right now didn't even like Vlad all that much.

The deeply buried part of him took a twisted pleasure in the thought Lupin would be hurting from the werewolf transformation. Born wolves were built for it, but a bitten had it forced on them - their bodies twisted and broke under each full moon. A wave of nausea at the thought of enjoying the pain mixed in, leaving Vlad shoving his book back in his trunk and curling up solemnly, trying and failing to push Phantom away. Showering before his dorm mates returned, Vlad was again safely in his pyjamas and behind his curtains when they returned.

"Whats up with you and Vlad? Normally you two are never apart, but you've barely even been in the same room today." Heart hammering as Draco quizzed Harry, Vlad awaited the answer. "We are allowed to be apart, we aren't a damn couple. I nearly died yesterday, can I not be out of normal for one day?" Harry snapped back, the anger in his voice making Vlad's stomach twist - he was angry at the mention of _him,_ and that **hurt**.

"Alright. Sorry." Draco backed down, and Vlad clenched his fist tighter in his bedsheets, watching as Phantom jumped through his curtains, mewling and he heard hissing returned. Then Harry hissing back, sounding angry. Even the familiars weren't immune to his current mood. "Look, whatever is up with you, don't take it out on them Harry. I might not speak snake but that wasn't a happy sound." "Mind your own Neville." Gritting his teeth, Vlad rolled off his bed and turned to face Harry. His mate wasn't acting like himself.

"If you have a problem with me, take it up with me. Don't take it out on them, or either of our familiars." Lily and Phantom were both almost cowering nearby, whatever Harry had said apparently enough to scare them. Harry actually glared, the pain in Vlad's chest acute when his mate aimed such a thing at him. "Who said it was about you?" "You're glaring like Ingrid did when I smashed one of her nail polish bottles. Biting everyone's head off." It was hard to push the words out, but he kept his voice even.

"Just leave me alone." Harry jumped in his bed, pulling the curtains around him and not resurfacing again. Offering the other boys a sad shrug, Vlad crawled back into his own bed and silenced the curtains before letting out a pained gasp, icy pain still a knife in his chest. Bertrand had convinced Snape to give Vlad a small supply of more powerful pain potions, just in case. They only took the edge off, but since students weren't supposed to have their own potions at all, and Vlad wasn't competent to brew these ones, he wasn't complaining. Swallowing the bitter liquid down, he slipped the empty vial back in his bag and felt the pain recede to a more tolerable level.

Phantoms head popped up under the curtains hesitantly, and Lily's bright green scales appeared next to her. Vlad patted the bedspread quietly, and the two joined him on the bed. Phantom curled up on his pillow, huffing sadly and Lily wrapped around his neck loosely, resting her head on his chest and flicking her tongue out occasionally. "I don't know either guys, I wish I did."

Running a finger over Lily, tracing her unique scale patterns absent mindedly, he wondered if Harry had decided Vlad wasn't worth being friends with anymore. That made his whole body twist painfully inside, the idea Harry would never smile at him again or crack a daft joke. It had only been a day or so he had been acting oddly, but Vlad was already terrified his mate might leave him forever.

Slowly convincing Lily around his wrist and forearm instead, so he could lie on his side without crushing her, Vlad tried to master the aches inside him and ignored the tears that welled. Dozing fitfully, he woke to see Phantom curled up under the hand Lily was coiled above, and by the sounds of light breathing and Seamus snoring, nobody else was awake yet. Whispering gently so as not to spook the venomous snake wrapped around his wrist, Vlad managed to get his hand free, smiling fondly and sleepily at the two familiars nestling together.

The ache in his chest hadn't gone away, still pulsing, throbbing painfully with each beat of his useless heart. The mirror showed his sleepless night, the circles under his eyes dark and he just looked _ill._ Knocking back a pepper up to ease some of the exhaustion that came from the draining feeling of his mate rejecting him, Vlad checked the time. Only twenty minutes until breakfast would start for the teachers and early risers, he could take a slow walk down he supposed.

Harry's books for their shared classes were in his bag, but Vlad couldn't bring himself to take them out and shrugged the rucksack on before leaning down to Lily and Phantom. "I'm heading down now, if you want to spend the day on my bed you're welcome to. I'm sure Phantom will bring you mice." Lily hissed, flicking her tail softly against his cheek in a rare show of affection and Phantom meowed agreeingly, patting his other cheek before placing a protective paw over Lily. They were a strange friendship if ever there was one.

There were only half a dozen other students in the hall when he got there, three of them Ravenclaw students. Yawning into his bowl of porridge, he felt Bertrand's eyes on him but Vlad really didn't want to talk about it right now. He wanted to wallow in the sadness and stare desperately at Harry when nobody was looking, no matter how pathetic that made him.

* * *

At first, Harry just wanted time to think on what Remus had said. Then everyone was asking about he and Vlad, as though Harry wasn't a person without the boy vampire nearby, and then Vlad was looking at him angrily. Vlad was unarmed, but Harry remembered - Vlad didn't _need_ his wand most of the time. He could well be very dangerous, even in his pyjamas not carrying a wand.

Part of Harry _knew_ he was being irrational, Vlad would sooner die than hurt him, but Remus had asked him to consider what Vlad would become. And he had known his parents, known what they would and wouldn't have wanted for their son. He owed them that much. He did feel bad for lashing out at Neville, and Draco, and Lily and Phantom. But the boys would get over it, and Lily had gone to Vlad alongside the furry one. He probably deserved that, Phantom was only worried about Vlad and Lily passing on the message.

 _"Mother is dead, isn't she?" Solace was wise beyond her years, knew the way they had lived wasn't normal. Closed doors, magical barriers, only her father leaving for work each evening and returning each morning. He said that way, he always got to be there when she woke, and got to say goodnight every night. She knew talking to snakes wasn't 'normal' to most, though Solace had done it all her life. It made her question, as she grew older, where the ability came from - her mother couldn't do it, and her father Artan wasn't magical at all._

 _"I fear so Solace, as much as I wish I could promise you otherwise." Now nine years old, she looked more like her mother every day but those grey eyes that stared back at him haunted his nightmares. Solace wrapped a hand around the necklace she had never taken off, hissing quietly to it as she often did when she missed her mother._

 _"What happens to me now? I cannot go to Hogwarts, where her brother teaches. He killed her to get to me, didn't he?" Solace had heard the whispers, hidden in plain sight as they were. Magic and muggles shouldn't mix. And Salazar Slytherin would recognise her, no mistake about that - she had a couple of drawings, she knew she looked like her mother. "You have the choice my dear daughter. Salazar has left the school, from what I hear. The others did not quite agree with his views. However, his son may well attend the school, and would likely know you to report back to him."_

 _Solace chewed her lip thoughtfully, looking up at her father. "And what's the other choice? Not be a witch?" Artan shook his head, holding out a book on the Academy of Magic in France. "We would have to move this year, to be ready to enroll you on your tenth birthday, but they would teach you too." "But father, I don't speak French." Her father chuckled, his brown eyes crinkling with amusement. "They have a sort of spell for that, translations apparently. However, wherever we send you, you'll not be able to tell them who you truly are, who your mother was. It's not safe Solace."_

 _"Then we shall go to France. I don't wish to risk meeting my cousin, particularly not before I can protect myself. What about the snakes? I know I shouldn't display that skill, but they find me father." Artan deliberated greatly on that - he didn't want to teach Solace to be **ashamed** of her talent, but it was far too distinctive a trait for them in hiding. "I suppose you will have to ask them to stop. And perhaps little Sammy here will have to stay with me. She's getting quite big now, you wouldn't be able to hide her."_

 _Sammy didn't like that idea, but promised she would behave so Solace could become more magical and keep them all safe. Having lived as simply and quietly as they did, it was not the biggest hardship to uproot their lives and move, though Artan hated to leave the land he had known Sorrow on. Still, Solace took the shed fang of her Runespoor snake, Sammy, to a wand maker, who encased it in a powerful yew wand._

 _The school she attended would in the future be known as Beauxbatons Academy, known for it's elegance and grace and grandeur, but all Artan and Solace cared for was her safety and education, both of which 'Sunny Peverell' got. Solace chose her own first name, taking her father's surname and would not change it, even when she married and had children of her own. Never did she lose the strength and spirit her mother had given her. Nor did she ever stop wearing the necklace, engraved with the emerald S, until on her deathbed, Solace passed it on to her youngest granddaughter, who too, could talk to snakes._

 _This scene faded away, to be replaced by a man staring absently from a bench, holding a diary in one hand and rolling a ring between the fingers of his other hand. Both radiated the dark magic with which he had turned them from simple objects into pieces of his soul. "You alright Mister?" Prepared to tell this Muggle creature to leave him be, Voldemort was caught short by the silver pendant hanging around her neck. An heirloom sought after for centuries by Slytherins descendants, carelessly slung around this... thing. Though, he couldn't deny, for a Muggle she was extraordinarily attractive, deep glittering brown eyes and hair an almost unbelievable shade of red._

 _Realising he had not yet answered, and skilled in the art of charming... anyone, Voldemort smiled vacantly. "Fine. Just, thinking." Pocketing the ring and diary, he held out his hand. "I'm uh, Tom. You?" "Rose." He couldn't use Lord Voldemort to this muggle, not in public. Tom would have to suffice. "You know Tom, I feel I've seen you somewhere before. You remind me so much of someone, but I can't put my finger on it. Want to talk about your thoughts?"_

 _Against all rational thought, he nodded. "I've had this... Plan, I suppose, since I was a boy. I just can't seem to work out where it's all going to lead." Already in possession of more horcruxes than any wizard before him, Voldemort knew there was no turning back. That didn't mean he couldn't wonder, right? "I know what you need." Staring at this muggle as though she were mad to think she could possibly begin to solve his problems, she just grinned. "Alcohol. The world will make sense again, I promise." Given that he wanted that necklace, Voldemort supposed a couple more hours couldn't hurt._

 _They ended up spending half the night together, most of it upstairs in a private room and he would never fathom why he so much as touched the muggle, who wore a wedding band on her finger and kissed him like she had nobody to go home to that night. He hadn't slept in about five years now, so when she finally did drift off next to him, Voldemort made his move. Waved his wand to clean and dress himself, slowly, carefully unhooked the necklace and slipped it from her body, and stole out into the night. Nobody could ever know what had transpired there._

 _Later, when he had been back to kill the muggle and her husband personally, crafting another horcrux with those deaths and the locket, he handed it to Lucius Malfoy. "I want it well hidden Lucius, do not disappoint me." "Fear not My Lord, nobody would dare rifle through a Malfoy womans jewellery. It shall be very safe."_

He didn't bolt awake this time, though he did cringe at the fact he had essentially **seen** his mothers conception. Harry sat up, ignoring the twinge in his scar these dreams with no rhyme or reason gave him. Lighting his wand and digging out a spare piece of parchment and the self-inking quill Hermione had gotten him for his birthday, Harry scrawled down the dream, the names and the locket. It was unmistakably the one currently sat at Malfoy Manor, the one found in a Malfoy vault. Clearly Voldemort had never banked on anyone with a sensory capability for such things making it into the vault, let alone three or four people.

He did notice he hadn't needed his glasses to see what he was writing, but nothing was glowing either - the self inking charm had a sort of blueish glow usually. About to get out of bed and look around better, he caught Vlad whispering - it was damn early, even for Vlad. He was telling Lily she could stay on his bed, in case Harry had scared his own familiar that much. Vlad wouldn't understand, but Lily did hiss back "thank you vampire" the same way she would say "thank you wizard" to Harry.

Waiting until the dormitory door closed behind Vlad, Harry climbed out of bed, crept over to Vlad's bed and was met with a warning growl from Phantom, who had a furry leg laying protectively over a snake that could probably swallow her whole. "Worry not furry one." Lily hissed soothingly, and Phantom quieted but didn't move her paw. "I'm sorry for snapping at you Lily, it's complicated." "I know wizard, I know." Casting eyes around, with only the faintest hint of dawn for light, Harry realised he could _see._ Hurrying to the bathroom, he gulped slightly. This cleared up vision apparently came with permanent snake-eyes.

Putting his glasses on covered the change to his pupils, but meant he couldn't see properly through his prescription glass. Staring closely at his glamoured eyes, he hid back in bed and grabbed his wand. This was a risk, but he could always say it had been an accidental Transfiguration and get new glasses. The charm to change them to plain glass worked fine, now to put the glamour back in place. What was it Vlad had said? Scouring his memories, Harry managed to remember. " **Oculus Viridian** " while focusing on how his eyes should look, Harry slipped his glasses back on and looked in the mirror. Not as perfect to a T as Vlad's had been, but he doubted many would notice and hopefully, he could convince his eyes back to normal at some point.

Though it was normally Vlad who helped him with this stuff, nobody else knew the full extent of what Samael's venom was doing to him. He wasn't even sure if these dreams were part of it, or if something else was giving him flashbacks of how things had come to be. Again, Vlad would be his go to for this. If he told Remus, he might decide Harry was a freak and not tell him more about his parents. But if he went to Vlad, Remus might feel Harry wasn't taking his message on board and still not tell him more about his parents. He was stuck.

-YDHP-

 **I meant to do some work on this, then Lazarus Rising then my new story but it just sort of wrote itself. Oops. Oh well, enjoy my wonderful little fan club!**


	13. Emotional Hits

**Jon - Thank you for the disturbing image of Harry eating Scabbers haha. I agree about Vlad trying to cure his vampirism in canon but! - for all he knows, his magic and vampirism are one and the same and to lose his vampire side would be to lose his magic, and therefore Harry. No, I haven't seen Being Human, I hear its good though. And you do not write drivel, you write reviews that make me smile so shush, I'm the author here so I'm in charge.**

 **If you don't read any of my other stuff, I'll say it again - not for attention, more apology - I've had my medication changed recently and my brain is little more than an empty space filled with soup right now. With any luck this is a temporary side effect!**

-YDHP-

After a week of Harry's cold shoulder, Vlad was growing desperate. Stealing into the bathroom that hid the entrance to the chamber, he set up the cauldron and ingredients for a painkilling potion. His hands shook slightly as he measured out the molly, but everything seemed to go together as he stirred over the small flames. He would have to shower as soon as this was done, measuring out into vials and stashing them in his backpack - Bertrand would be able to smell he had been brewing otherwise.

Swallowing one down, Vlad waved a shaking hand to clean up after himself and stole away, barely holding his invisibility spell up to an empty corridor on the seventh floor. The potions only took the edge off, but it was something. Ingrid was the only one he could talk to - Bertrand just insisted he tell Harry and that _was not happening._ His sister understood though - she was no more likely to admit the truth to her own mate, and with her final blood test approaching Ingrid wouldn't even have to see Bertrand again. The next week passed in a haze of sleeplessness and bitter tasting potions and promising Bertrand he was studying in his common room.

His schoolwork was suffering, and Vlad had muttered something about worrying over his blood test when McGonogall asked. Lupin never called on him in DADA, but he could feel the werewolf eyeing him sat next to Neville and Hermione - Harry now sat with Draco, Seamus and Dean. Rubbing at his tired eyes - he was barely sleeping and running through pepper up too fast now, Vlad stifled a yawn and scribbled more about Grindylows on his parchment. There was a note in the book - known to attack almost any other magical creature, so he had to avoid them. Though as he couldn't really swim, Vlad wasn't _too_ concerned about meeting the water dwellers.

"Mr Dracula, a word if you would?" Vlad hung back, shrugged at his dorm mates questioning looks and waited for the classroom to clear. "What's up professor?" Lupin wouldn't look right at him, as though Vlad was going to attack him before he even had his fangs. "I want you to stay away from Harry. You'll destroy him." Magic burned inside him, rage bubbling alongside it and Vlad barely contained the urge to hurt the werewolf. " **You** warned him off me, that's why he's being off with me."

The teacher suddenly looked very uncomfortable, almost took a step back. "I... I urged him to consider the danger of being friends with... with your kind." Only the certainty of expulsion and being totally cut off from Harry stopped Vlad pulling his wand, glaring. "And I'm sure you told him you were a werewolf before this cosy warning? Do you have _any_ idea what..." A pulse of pain stopped him dead, clutching at his chest. This appeared to be a dead giveaway - the werewolf knew about vampires then. Well, he was the DADA teacher.

"That's... impossible. Only other vampires..." Vlad growled, instinct to defend the right to call Harry his mate regardless of species. "It's none of your business, but yes. So now you know I really would rather die than ever hurt him, but thank you for the fortnight of agonising rejection. I really needed that. You didn't answer me. Did you tell Harry you're a werewolf?" Lupin shook his head, watching as Vlad pulled out a vial and swallowed it.

"Pain killers?" "I need them. I can't sleep, I can hardly eat. I just worry why Harry seemed to hate me all of a sudden. And it's because of you." The bell rung again, warning them the next class would be along soon. "What are you doing in here zombie snot?" Ingrid looked confused to find Vlad in her classroom, glaring probably out of habit at the teacher. As he felt the potion kick in, Vlad straightened up. "I'll explain later. Diaries at eight?" He mumbled it, ensuring nobody overheard. Ingrid nodded shortly, and Vlad managed to leave the classroom.

If he had told Ingrid, she probably would have cursed Lupin on his behalf. As it stood, she would probably just glare even harder throughout her class. It hadn't been long enough between doses, his brain sluggish as the overdosing started to take hold. Plus he was late for Potions. Making sure the corridors were empty, Vlad ambled over to the portrait shortcut on this floor - a tip from the Weasley twins. "Babbling pot." The woman eternally eating a roast dinner eyed his clammy face, tired frame and swung open muttering "skipping classes" as it closed behind him.

A rat scampered past him, and Vlad felt like it looked familiar, then decided he was too drugged to be coherent - rats all looked fairly similar. "Fortuna Major" by the time Vlad reached the Gryffindor portrait hole, he clearly looked so rough she didn't question him being out of class. "Whoa Vlad, you ok?" Fred and George were in the common room on a free period, chatting to Lee Jordan over a box Vlad expected contained questionable items.

"Yeah, just don't feel great. Gonna go lie down." He stumbled, exhaustion and potion and **pain** whirling around in his head but made it to the staircase. One of the twins caught him, helped him up the stairs and deposited him on his bed. "You look awful. And that's going some, because you're naturally white as a sheet but damn Vladdo." "Yeah, what have you been doing?" Vlad kicked his shoes off, rolled on his side and attempted to shrug.

"Not been sleeping well. I'll be fine, thanks for helping me up here guys, but I just need to lie down. Close my curtains please?" The twins stood, gripping the bedcurtains. "Sure Vlad." "Let us know if you need anything." Blissful darkness overtook him, taking the strain off one of his senses at least.

A sort of hazy nap later, Vlad woke with a face full of black fur and a paw tapping his cheek. "Phantom, what is it?" She mewled, backing up just enough for him to focus a little. Chest still aching, Vlad checked his watch and figured he was good to take another vial of pain relief. Pushing his tired muscles upright, he sought his backpack and swallowed down the sour liquid. Sighing in relief, Vlad pushed open his curtains and made it to the bathroom.

"Missed you in potions Vlad." His friend looked concerned, and Vlad wasn't surprised - his reflection was a sore viewing. "Neville, I'm sorry. I just had to lie down, think I'm coming down with something." Walking past, Vlad relieved his bladder and stood in front of the sink, trying not to look at the state of himself. It was his own fault really - the more he let himself get close to Harry, the harder the hits from his mate rejecting him would get. It wasn't such an issue for vampire and vampire, as they weren't a close, friendly race as standard.

But his mate was human, and beautiful and brave, courageous and strong and Vlad couldn't help but want to be close to that all the time. He was pathetic, really, but he couldn't help himself - the sound of Harry's voice in the next room made his heart lift, just for a second. Then the crushing sense that his mate was afraid of him reared it's head, clawing at his insides and only a tight grip on the sink kept Vlad on his feet as nausea twisted his stomach.

"Vlad?" Realising Neville was still watching, Vlad unclenched his hands and smiled over at his friend. "I'm good. Just a little sick, I might go get a stomach settling potion from Madam Pomfrey." That was a lie - he had those in his bag, because Harry overate on sweets sometimes and Vlad hated seeing the unhealthy flush in his cheeks from nausea - but there was an hour until his 'diary date' with Ingrid and he couldn't spend it watching Harry fear him, not right now.

The cold weather and darkening sky meant that there was nobody outside - it was curfew for the first and second years anyway, unless they had detention. Which young George Giles was already following her Weasley namesake in - she had two detentions for blowing up cauldrons in potions, a half finished cure for boils ironically causing multiple cases of boils. And then another in Charms, as she had started levitating books and making them swat the other students. Vlad's favourite story was her Astronomy detention, getting caught painting ink on her classmates eyepieces so they would get black rings on their faces when they leant in to the telescopes.

Leant against one of the stone pillars and shivering slightly, the clear night air filling his lungs, Vlad stared over in the direction of the forbidden forest, cast into mild visibility from a light on in Hagrid's window. Tilting his head, Vlad wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but there was something... _moving_ at the edge of the forest. Heart hammering and very aware all sorts of weird, dangerous creatures lived in the forest, he edged closer anyway. Whatever it was shifting noticed him, turning bright eyes in his direction and Vlad caught the shape of a large, hairy body. Not the full moon - not a werewolf.

"Vlad?" Light flooded the space around him as Hagrid's door swung open, and in the brief seconds he had to blink the thing vanished, the tree line clear. "Hey Hagrid." "Whadda yer doin' out alone?" Vlad shrugged, not having the energy for any convincing lie. "Fancied a walk." The gamekeeper shook his shaggy head, closing the door to his hut behind him. "C'mon, I'm walking yer back to the castle. No wanderin' alone with that Sirius Black on th'loose."

The low light available in the dark evening meant Hagrid didn't notice how ill Vlad must look, and Vlad thanked the man and hurried off when they reached the main doors. His rendition of the conversation to Ingrid only raised his sisters ire with the werewolf teacher, but Vlad begged her not to make a fuss out of it - the last thing he needed was anyone wondering why Vlad was so affected by it all. Then Harry might find out. No. He would have to hope either Harry came around on his own, or that Lupin would fix it. It wasn't a hopeful situation.

He couldn't avoid the notice of Bertrand forever - Vlad was certain he reeked of the pain potions in his blood and his eyes looked a little glazed now and then when he dared look in the mirror. Several days after the altercation with Lupin, Harry was still ducking him. Even at night, when Harry's nightmares tugged at the mate bond and woke Vlad from what little sleep he got, Harry had told Vlad to 'leave him be' the one time Vlad had tried to approach the wizard.

A week before Halloween, Vlad couldn't get out of bed. His chest ached, his painkillers and pepper up not even making a dent now and Harry barely looked at him. "If you aren't going to tell him, at least explain to me what has caused this particular spell of rejection. You two have always resolved these issues in a day or two before." Bertrand leant against Harry's bed, moving when Vlad growled weakly and leaning against Draco's bed instead.

"Werewolf. Warned Harry I was dangerous. Don't know what else." The words hurt to push out, each one a huge effort. He wasn't fit to take his blood test now, so he was utterly screwed for the following week - he would only get worse. Bertrand clearly knew Vlad was self-medicating the problem, but handed him a muscle relaxant potion anyway, which did allow him to get a little more comfortable.

"Did he warn Harry he's even more dangerous? Since you're untransformed and he's a bitten?" Vlad chuckled shortly, but there was no humour in it whatsoever. "Of course not. My mate. At risk from me. Not him. Clearly." Vlad coughed slightly, sitting up painfully for a drink of water. Bertrand opened his mouth, then closed it and turned to the door. "Miss Granger, kindly don't loiter in doorways." Heart already racing, it only climbed higher as Vlad panicked about how much Hermione had heard.

"Is it true? Harry's your..." Hermione had heard then. Waiting for the door to be closed behind her, Vlad nodded painfully. "Yeah. He doesn't know. I'm not going to take the choice away from him." Hermione paid no mind to his sweaty skin, sitting next to him on his bed and brushing his damp fringe off his face. "You daft vampire. Explains why you thought it a clever idea to jump in front of those dementors for him. Why's he being so funny with you?" Vlad felt another pulse of pain at the reminder, sighing in relief when Hermione ran a cool cloth over his face.

"Don't know." He wasn't going to continually blame Lupin, Hermione knew enough as it was. "I'll let professor Vector know you're off sick, and I'll help you catch up when you're better. Get some rest." Hermione gave one last sad look at Vlad, then headed out and Bertrand sighed. "She's rather at ease in here." "Hermione is in and out of here all the time." He chuckled shortly, then coughed.

"Get some sleep. I'll be back to check on you at lunch. No more painkillers, you'll overdose and they aren't helping." Glaring as much as he could at his tutor, Vlad laid back down. Drifting somewhat, the next he remembered was Phantom prodding his cheek, and licking sweat from his temple. Then Vlad realised he could smell werewolf, cringing slightly as he opened his eyes and found Lupin stood next to Bertrand. Dislodging Phantom gently, Vlad sat back up with monumental effort and found a potion pushed in his hand by his tutor.

"A one off, energizing elixir. Now no more potions." Swallowing it down, it energised him enough to stand up, wary of turning his back on Lupin but needing the bathroom. Washing the sweat off his face and brushing potion ick from his mouth, Vlad finally felt a little less zombie-fied. "Why is he in here?" "I wanted him to realise what he's doing to a student because of prejudice. If he doesn't realise, I'll report him for inappropriate behaviour towards Harry."

Looking up at Bertrand in surprise, Vlad wasn't sure what he hoped to accomplish but figured he had little to lose now - he wasn't going to get any better without Harry. "I had no idea this was so... potent an effect. Tomorrow is Saturday, I will talk to Harry over our usual tea and chat. So long as you can swear-" "I'll never hurt Harry. I'll die first. Literally." That was a promise ingrained deep in his soul, Vlad didn't want to promise the wolf a damn thing but it could get Harry back in his life, even as a friend. "I'm not even planning to tell him. If Harry ever sees me that way, it'll be his choice."

Lupin surveyed him, searching for a hint of a lie in Vlad's eyes with those strange amber irises of his. "Alright. I'll talk to him, but I won't force him." "Neither would I. Thank you Professor." Even with the elixir, Vlad wasn't fit to do much but lie in bed. Bloxy the kitchen elf brought him a sandwich at dinner, with a wink as she placed a glass of pumpkin juice next to it. "Come visit us when you're better mister Vlad!" she squeaked, before popping out. His plate vanished of it's own accord when he finished his sandwich, and the energising elixir was wearing out by evening.

"How you feeling Vladdy? You still look terrible." "Cheers Seamus." Neville offered Vlad a chocolate frog with a smile, feeding Phantom while Vlad unwrapped it and laughed at the fact he had the wizard card based on his father in it. "Have you seen Madam Pomfrey?" Shaking his head at Neville, Vlad tried to get comfortable while his familiar tried to steal the bedcovers. "Bertrand checked on me, says if I'm not better tomorrow he will drag me to the hospital wing. Hopefully it's just a bug."

Madam Pomfrey couldn't do anything for Vlad, short of mind controlling Harry into coming near Vlad again. Which Ingrid or Bertrand could do if he asked, but it would only prolong his problem, offer a tiny temporary positive effect. The promise of Harry maybe being talked around was enough of a lift to get to breakfast - slowly, painfully, but he made it to the table. Hermione sat next to him, quiet but comforting as she talked lightly about Arithmancy. Cutting a chunk of pancake clumsily, Vlad transferred the syrup-covered slice to his mouth.

"So if you change the numbers here, that's what makes the difference between colours with a colour-change charm?" "Exactly." Hermione smiled, not giving away a thing about his 'problem' with Harry as they looked over her notes from the previous day in the common room. "What are you grown ups doing?" George and Bella popped up next to them, leaning over Hermione's parchment. "Chatting about Arithmancy. This is how you break down charms and spells."

"Cool. What's this bit?" George was instantly intrigued as Hermione explained, and Vlad just let the words wash over him as he waited. He knew it was Harry before the portrait hole opened, forcing himself not to stare desperately at his mate.

"Vlad?" His name in his mates voice never failed to make his heart skip, and Vlad tried not to look pathetic as he looked up. "Can we talk?" Heart hammering so hard against his chest Harry could probably hear it, Vlad noticed the glamour charm on his glasses wasn't exactly the same - not his magic. It was Harry's. There was a story he wanted to hear. "Sure. The dorm?" Harry nodded, turned and led the way. Hermione offered him a supportive smile and kept the first years focused on her parchment, drawing their attention away from Vlad's slow, stumbling gait.

Door closed behind them, Harry shuffled his feet. "So uh, I wanted to say sorry. For how I've been acting with you. I had a freak out, panicked about you know, you being a vampire. But I realised, you've never done anything but try to keep me safe. Unless you've got designs on me being your first meal when you're sixteen that is, I know you won't hurt me." Relief flowing hot through his veins, soothing him, Vlad nodded. "You're right, I would never hurt you."

Harry still smelled like werewolf, but beneath that the scent of _mate_ overwhelmed his senses, slaking the aches inside him as Harry hugged him. "If it makes you feel better, I don't plan on biting anyone. Ever. Promise." The blinding smile of belief made his stomach backflip, and he felt happy for the first time in weeks. Harry wasn't avoiding him anymore - everything else was just details.

-YDHP-

 **All Vlad chapter but hey, I'm surprised I managed to write this much. Enjoy!**


	14. Black and Blood

**PercyPowerful - thank you so much! I was worried the last chapter was drug addled nonsense so your review made me smile like Vlad watching Harry.**

 **Jon - wonderful review as always! I wanted Vlad to lose his cool too, but it would have been out of place when he was so ill and then he might have gotten expelled and lost Harry forever! I'm not totally sure what you're getting at with that one shot request, but if you want to inbox me about it I will definitely see what I can do.**

 **Pokemon Go takes up a lot of time, my legs hurt and my phone needs charging twice as often... Gotta catch em all!**

-YDHP-

The change in Vlad was almost instantaneous, the pain vanishing and a buzzing energy filling him within minutes of Harry apologising and hugging him. He had to make a conscious effort not to startle anyone with his rapid recovery, burning off most of his energy with a walk from their high tower all the way down to the kitchens, greeted happily by the elves, plied with a lot of extra food and back up again.

The other boys in the dorm were happy to see the snacks, and Vlad was happy to sit and watch Harry surreptitiously over his study book - Hermione promised to get him back up to speed tomorrow, and Vlad had an automatic extension for the following week of schools homework to allow for the blood test that weekend. For now, he could pretend he was studying Herbology and actually study Harry intently. They were all starting to age - except Vlad, who still looked painfully young in comparison, and the shape of Harry's jaw was filling out, his hair growing down to brush over his cheekbones at the sides. Vlad wanted so badly to brush it out of his eyes.

He was almost too giddy to sleep, especially when Harry smiled and said goodnight, but also exhausted by the toll the last few weeks had taken on him. That didn't stop Vlad bouncing out of bed, showered and dressed and raring to go before anyone else was even fully awake. "It's sunday, why are you awake with the dawn chorus?" Draco quizzed, early morning bed hair glowing faintly in the sun peeking through the window.

"I've been ill the last few days, finally feeling better. And I got plenty of extra sleep the last couple of days too. I'll be down in the common room." Because otherwise Vlad was going to want to peer through Harry's bedcurtains, and _that_ was just creepy. Phantom accompanied him, curled up around the back of his neck and yawning occasionally as they sat in the deserted room.

"I thought only I was up at this hour. Well, me and the Ravenclaws." "Morning George." He got a bright, far too awake smile from the first year, who was an instant attraction for Phantom and laughed happily as the black furball licked her face. "So what are you doing up?"

"Just woke up buzzing, but I've been under the weather lately, sleeping alot. Now I'm feeling better." George made an 'ah' sound of understanding, tickling Phantoms chin. "What are _you_ doing awake this early then?" The girl shrugged, looking out at the rising morning.

"Always up early. My mum said it's because I'm just a constant source of energy, and sleep is a battle. Plus I'm at a school of magic, sleep is almost a waste of time. Even not in class, it's just so exciting here. So magical." She was practically lit up, eyes full of joy for the place she was in. Draco padded down the staircase, smiling at the two and still sleepy as he walked over. "Breakfast?" "Sure." George bounded alongside them, chattering away about Hogwarts far too energetically for so early, but he could sympathise - Harry was talking to him again, Vlad was full of beans too.

The hall filled up slowly on sunday mornings, but Bertrand and Lupin were both awake, at the table. Though at opposite ends of said table, and Bertrand was sat next to Snape. Ingrid wasn't awake yet - she often missed breakfast, sleeping in until eleven am on weekends. She would sleep in til midday on weekdays if it weren't Hogwarts, Vlad was sure of it. So she didn't have to see them together, as Bertrand was rarely at lunch. Vlad gave his tutor a beaming smile, showing he felt amazing before turning back in time to hear George complain Jacob and Jason had beaten her at chess.

"It's like they have two brains in one body, I'm convinced they are cheating somehow. Psychic twin stuff. I will discover the truth!" George brandished her fork like a weapon, which would have been fine if it didn't still have food on it. The older Hufflepuff student who recieved the scrambled eggs to the back of their neck scowled, and George apologised loudly but broke into giggles all the same.

She was just forever radiating momentum, barely waiting for the twin boys to have eaten breakfast - they were allowed to sit at other house tables for meal times so long as they didn't cause trouble, and Gryffindor was far more accommodating of Jacob and the other first year snakes joining them - before she dragged them off into the courtyard to "feed the giant squid!". All the while, Vlad was talking to Hermione opposite him, which meant he could keep Harry next to her in his line of vision the whole time.

"Here's the stuff for Arithmancy, Runes, Transfiguration and Potions. You can catch up on Charms, Herbology and DADA tomorrow. We didn't get essay homework set for History of Magic, and Professor Sinistra will just catch you up as we go now you're back in classes." Hermione handed him the assignments, with helpful notes about which pages in which books he needed to either read or reference.

Hermione also didn't treat him any differently, knowing about his mate bond to Harry - she effectively knew he was gay and in love with Harry, but nothing in her actions even gave a hint of it. She didn't look at Harry knowingly, or make the jokey comments about Vlad and Harry being 'like an old married couple' in the way they just... clicked together. And they did, they were just perfect together but Vlad already knew that, that was why the mate bond picked him. Hermione just helped him catch up, and quietly asked if he was definitely feeling better under the cover of proof reading his Runes and Arithmancy work.

"Awesome. Really. I feel great. Hang on, those two runes are in the wrong places. That ward wouldn't protect against a lit match, never mind a full blaze." They wouldn't be learning to **cast** wards this complicated, but the basic calculations that belonged to what could be advanced runic warding was so interesting to learn. "That's not even something you should know, we haven't gotten that far in translations yet. Show off." Vlad grinned, especially when Hermione realised she had made the same mistake on her own work.

"You're better at Arithmancy, Potions and Herbology. I'll take Runes, Transfiguration and Charms. And Harry will beat us both at DADA." Hermione glared, but he saw a smile twitching at the side of her mouth and figured they were fine. Harry shook his head, referring to them as his 'geek friends' and talking Quidditch with the other boys.

"You say that now, but when its exam time you all want a piece of us." "Gross Vlad, I don't want any part of you." Seamus gagged, realising what he had insinuated and picking up the nearest issue of the Daily Prophet to hide behind as the post owls dropped off their packages. His dad never wrote to him, so Vlad got very little post.

"Is that Black on the front?" Everyone whipped around, scrabbling to spread the paper out on the table between them and not noticing ink pots and cups were being upended - several students cried out in protest as their work was splattered. Vlad charmed his parchment to be safe from that out of habit whenever he worked in the Great Hall, because his friends were messy creatures. He and Hermione quickly cast cleaning charms on the table, then turned their attention to the paper.

Sirius Black had been sighted in a town, that according to Hermione wasn't that far from Hogwarts. "That's why the dementors are guarding the gates, in case Black comes here. Isn't it?" Dean asked quietly, but Seamus was looking around wide eyed, practically vibrating with nervous energy. "Yeah, but he's already got past them once. Who's to say he won't do it again?"

This led to Vlad and Hermione agreeing to learn spells to teach the others, much like the previous years. Harry was better at this sort of magic, but less likely to sit and learn it - "I have you for book reading Vlad, plus you like extra reading." Vlad didn't argue, because Harry saying "I have you" made him feel far too warm and fuzzy inside for any self respecting vampire, and he didn't care a jot. "Ok Neville" Vlad stood, unarmed and waiting opposite his friend "give it a go."

Neville raised his wand shakily - he didn't like attacking his friends but Vlad smiled reassuringly - miming the wand movement a little to himself before calling out " _impedimenta!_ " and Vlad froze solid, unable to move forwards. Overpowered, the spell could knock someone clean off their feet but it was generally designed to slow someone down to a dead stop for a few seconds, like a less aggressive stunner or petrificus charm. Hermione cast the counter charm, and Neville looked relieved it had worked. Their friends confidence still needed work at times.

"Right. Who's next?"

* * *

It was a couple of days before Harry felt safe to get Vlad alone, consistently relieved Vlad hadn't been mad at him for his lapse in judgement. Remus had seemed as surprised at what he was saying as Harry was when he said he had changed his mind about the boy vampire. "What changed your tune sir? If you don't mind my asking."

"Remus Harry, Remus. I've been talking to some of the other teachers, hearing about the... adventures you boys have had. You have a good friend there, I misjudged him. Not to say I won't be keeping an eye on him, but I'm not worried like I used to be." Vlad had looked like all his Christmasses had come at once when Harry hugged him, and he felt horrid for putting his friend through the freeze with no explanation.

Naturally, his friend was caught up from getting ill within two days. He did have Hermione helping, Harry mused as he practiced disinfecting charms on the dummy in Healing. The dreams hadn't stopped, though they weren't every night he had had several while 'not talking' to Vlad. All the things he could remember were written down, so he could show Vlad and explain the dreams now. They stopped off in the kitchens for food, then headed through one of the secret passages Vlad had learnt from the Weasley twins out to the grounds.

Sat in one of the patches of trees near the lake, a small bluebell fire keeping them warm without burning anything around them, Vlad smiled as he leant up against a tree and waited. Chewing on a chicken leg and tossing the bone into the flames, Harry swallowed thickly. "I uh, I don't need glasses to see anymore. Except it came with this." He pulled off his glasses - every time he looked, his eyes were still snake-y. Vlad had already seen that change before, when it flickered in and out.

"Do you 'see' the aura colour stuff all the time too?" He shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose and not bothering to put the glamoured plain glass back on yet. "Only if I focus. I can't always make it happen, or go away but I think I'm getting there. Sucks that I have to wear glamoured glass to stop people questioning me." Vlad chewed thoughtfully on a sandwich, washing it down with pumpkin juice and flushing lightly when Harry looked at him knowingly.

"You can use a glamour on your eyes, but until you get that weird magic sight under control you're better off with something detachable. Glamouring your eyes might make it impossible to see if it flickered in unexpectedly. Plus, when you get that under control you may be able to make your eyes go... I don't want to say normal, because this could be your new normal." The two conversed between mouthfuls about Harry's eyes, and in a way it was a relief not to have to hide so much - Vlad really was a brilliant friend.

Tossing their leftovers in to the lake, some tentacles crept up and grabbed the pieces of food. "That squid must be getting really fat, everyone feeds it." Vlad wasn't looking over the lake as he spoke - he was looking at Harry. Fighting a strange, fleeting urge to squirm under the scrutiny, he knew Vlad was waiting to see if there was more.

"I've been having... weird dreams." There was a flash of mirth in Vlad's eyes as he answered with "Harry, that's perfectly normal for teenage boys." and ducked when Harry tossed a pebble from the ground towards him.

"Helpful. No. About... about Salazar, and Sorrow. And Voldemort. And my grandmother." He wasn't going to refer to Voldemort as his grandfather, biology or not that man was _not_ his family, and wouldn't be named anything close to it. Vlad raised a querying eyebrow, so Harry handed over the things he had remembered each time he woke up.

"Sorrow's daughter was... oh. Gross. Not their faults though I guess. Sounds like Solace turned out pretty well all the same, her dad must have been a good guy." Harry hummed in acknowledgment, not wanting to interrupt Vlad reading through the strange things that happened in his head at night. He watched as Vlad's brow furrowed in confusion, mouth twisted in disgust and occasionally his whole face fell in sadness. He handed it back when done, clearly processing.

"So that's **the** locket? Stole it off her, then used her murder to make it a horcrux. But not before he got her pregnant? Charming. When we find out how to break them, you can have that pleasure Harry. Hmm" Vlad brought his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and resting his head there to observe Harry "and you definitely believe this all is true?" Harry looked at his friend incredulously, but Vlad only winked.

"Just checking. I believe you, you know I do. I have to focus on my test this week, but after Halloween I am one hundred percent into helping you find out what all of this means." Harry could only agree there - Vlad could baulk and run, tell Harry they were just dreams or just flat out say his friend was bonkers, but he wasn't. It was only a couple of days until Halloween, and it wasn't like Voldemort was currently stood at the gates of Hogwarts trying to break in. They had time.

Vlad grew more noticably nervous when Friday approached, as every DADA class that day was about vampires - the wizened, angry looking vampire there to administer Vlad and Ingrid's tests put everyone on edge. Especially Professor Lupin, who spent the entire class at opposite ends of the classroom to who Vlad said was a representative for the "Vampire High Council". Obviously, that wasn't what the school as a whole was told - they were informed "Vasilev" was actually an old friend of Dumbledores, and happened to be passing and agreed to the one off visit.

"Loved hearing all the best ways to kill me and my kind." Vlad grumbled, stabbing viciously at his chicken and muttering angrily to himself at dinner. Thankfully everyone was excited about the first Hogsmeade visit and the Halloween feast coming up, chatting loudly and not paying attention to Vlad's minor glowering. Harry promising never to sunlight-charm him did win a smile, but Vlad was clearly still in a bad mood when he set off for 'tutoring'.

The relief that it was over for another year was tangible when Vlad collapsed into the nearest empty armchair by the fire - Harry and Hermione had both waited up for him. Phantom sprung up from the windowledge, leaping into Vlad's lap and refusing to stop pestering her vampire until he smiled.

"How was it?" "Boring. Gross. That VHC guy complained we were here. Apparently most of us end up in Durmstrang. But our names appeared on Hogwarts roster even though we lived in Romania at the time, I didn't choose this." Harry didn't really know what to say about that, just laughing at Vlad's grimace when Phantom licked his eyebrow.

"Well I, for one, am glad you ended up here. And it's done until next year." Hermione yawned as she finished reassuring Vlad, brushing his fringe off his face fondly as she bid them goodnight and headed up. Raising an eyebrow at Vlad, Harry smirked. "I think Draco might put that class to use if he finds out you're moving in on Hermione."

Vlad shook his head, stroking Phantom and not meeting Harry's eyes. "It's not like that. Hermione isn't my type, and she's as mad for Draco as he is her. I won't be surprised if they end up holding hands slyly under a table when we get lunch tomorrow in Hogsmeade. Or disappearing together. At most, it'll be a done deal by Valentines day coming." Harry chuckled to himself, conceding Vlad was probably right.

Vlad dropped Phantom on his bed, then disappeared to shower before bed - the others would probably all want the bathroom in the morning, so he called it pre-emptive choice. They all had their money bags from Draco, and Vlad groaned on the way to the check point - "You guys are going to buy wayyy too much candy, right?" Seamus and Dean both agreed vociferously, and Harry was mildly nervous as they reached their turn to be checked. Filch scowled, but noted both he and Vlad were leaving and didn't stop them. Sighing in relief, he soon changed his mind.

Vlad gripped his wrist, squeezing gently in reassurance as they walked between the dementors and pulling him along before Harry could feel more than cold and sad inside. "You're alright, we're past them now."

Harry already wanted to find a different way to Hogsmeade, or Sirius Black so they could get rid of the dementors for good. Shuddering inwardly, his wrist felt strangely warm where Vlad's cool hand had been. Putting it down to his own strange body temperature issues, they set off for Hogsmeade.

"I can see you nerds wanting to go to the book store and stationery shop. So we are going to run away now." Seamus, Dean and Neville hurried away, presumably to Zonkos joke shop or Honeydukes sweet store. Vlad and Hermione didn't spend _that_ long in the book store, and even Harry bought new parchment and a new quill in the other shop. Hermione chuckled as Vlad pointed out a bottle of ink that flashed different colours as the person wrote, and Draco took the abuse good-naturedly when both Vlad and Hermione tickled his face with huge eagle owl feather quills.

They did agree to Zonkos, but Vlad threatened every member of their dormitory with painful hexes if anyone bought dungbombs or stink pellets. Harry picked up a bag of trick sweets for their pranks, and a book of trick spells he knew Vlad could be convinced into doing because he could do them word- and wand-lessly. If the older Slytherin students would just leave them alone... He smirked to himself at Vlad's look of trepidation.

Honeydukes was **amazing.** Vlad brought his tutor a bag of blood pops as a joke, then pretty much everything pumpkin flavoured in there. Harry had to buy some of everything, like the ice mice that squeaked, levitating sweets that literally made people float, sugar quills and piles of creamy fudge, chocolate frogs and jelly slugs. "We gotta stay stocked up. We might run out before Christmas otherwise!" Vlad rolled his eyes at his friends, but ended up bowing under Harry's pleading expression and buying junk food too, amusing himself with the animal-noise sweets and pepper imps.

Their next stop was the Three Broomsticks, a pub that sold butterbeer aplenty. Vlad got himself a warm spiced pumpkin juice, glaring at the foamy flagons of too-sweet buttery froth everyone else had. Harry looked around as they sat around a couple of tables, eyeing the Halloween-themed decorations and interesting patrons. There was a man smoking a pipe, not looking at the smoke rising out but it changed into various animal shapes like a dragon stretching its wings, and then a wolf opening its mouth to roar.

There were also many people with veils or heavy hats that hid their faces, some sipping at large cups or downing shots of something smoke was rising out of - Draco informed them it was called 'firewhiskey' and absolutely burned on the way down. "How would you know?" Hermione rounded on him almost instantly, and the blond boy shrugged. "My parents threw alot of parties. Not many types of magical alcohol I haven't tried."

Parents were generally a topic to be avoided with them, particularly in public. Since Vlad only had a father and he couldn't really talk about him, Harry had no parents, Neville was raised by his grandmother and Draco's father was in prison, his mother legally required to leave her son well alone.

"If you're all done rotting your teeth" Vlad stood up, handing over some coins for his drink at the nearby bar "lets go see the shrieking shack and get back before the Halloween feast?" Cocking his head, Harry knew they had plenty of time to get back before the feast, and only he and Hermione followed Vlad - the others were in no rush to stop trying to get firewhiskey.

"What's that about Vlad?" Harry questioned as they stood at the fence guarding the shack. "The dementors check every store in Hogsmeade first thing in the morning, then again in the afternoon and again at night. Figured you would want to be clear of that and we have been most places but here." Harry hadn't even known that, and affection bubbled for his friend automatically planning to keep Harry away from the foul creatures.

"Thanks." "Don't mention it. So Hermione, tell us all about the shrieking shack." Hermione flushed, but her eyes glittered happily as she launched into a thorough history lesson about the dilapidated building they were looking at. Harry let the words wash over him, only vaguely noticing Vlad staring intently at a spot near the building before his friend was ducking beneath the fence, wand out.

"Vlad, where are you going?" Harry looked around, nudged Hermione mid-sentence and followed Vlad. "We aren't supposed to come down here!" She scolded as they walked down, Vlad a few steps ahead and clearly intent on something.

By the time he caught up with Vlad, Harry was a little winded from the steep incline down. "What are you doing? Other than getting up close and personal with the most haunted building in Britain?" Vlad crouched, peering into some overgrown bushes. "It's not haunted. Hogwarts is more haunted than this place." The boy vampire straightened up, shrugging.

"I thought I saw something. Must be seeing things. Come on!" Vlad set off back up the hill, leaving Harry and Hermione exchanging looks of exasperation before they followed him to the school.

Plenty of students were dressed up for Halloween again, pumpkins floating in mid air with faces ranging from funny to almost-scary carved into them. In spite of the sweets consumed in Hogsmeade, everyone had a huge appetite and the first years were quizzing them about the local magical village incessantly.

"Our first Halloween feast was the troll in the dungeon, wasn't it?" Harry, Hermione and Vlad hid grins - they weren't _technically_ banned from talking about all their rule breaking, but weren't supposed to encourage the new students into danger either.

"A troll? Like, a real, huge troll?" "Yep. Someone must have let it in as a joke, not that we ever found out who." Dean mused as he held up a chicken leg, biting into it contemplatively as George and Bella stared at them wide eyed. "Wow."

Stuffed full of food, Harry still found room for plenty of treacle tart while Vlad ate his way through one solitary slice of pumpkin pie and cinnamon sprinkled ice cream. Granted Vlad probably didn't feel like he had swallowed a planet when he stood up, but Harry felt that it was worth it.

Climbing up the staircases slowly, they made it to the seventh floor but discovered a crowd around the entrance to Gryffindor tower. "Who's forgotten the password?" "Come on, let us in!" Various students called out, and Ginny appeared between several taller Gryffindors, spotting them and hurrying over. "The fat lady, she's gone!" Vlad shifted out of the way to reveal Professor Dumbledore, who cut through the crowd with ease.

The canvas had huge slash marks in it, torn right through to the wooden support at the back and thr occupant was indeed missing. "Nobody is to enter this tower until it has been thoroughly searched. Everyone please head back to the Great Hall." The students all started whispering amongst themselves, some trying to hover but scampering away under the glare of their headmaster.

Vlad had disappeared when Harry had the space to look, overhearing "Mister Filch, assemble the school ghosts and tell them to search every painting in the castle, to find the fat lady. Mr Weasley, kindly round up the other prefects and keep watch over the students in the hall." Percy puffed his chest out and started barking orders at a now-scowling fifth year. Harry guessed the prefects weren't too fond of the head boy.

"Headmaster? I've found her." Vlad was up another floor, the only thing up there the entrance to the Divination tower as far as Harry knew. And stood in front of a painting containing a very, very large hippo that a pink hat could just about be seen over - naturally Harry followed them to his friend.

"My dear lady, who did this to you?" Dumbledore asked, and they were garnering attention from the other students lower down now. Percy tried to shoo them away, but few cared about "head boy" in the face of gossip and drama.

The fat lady popped up from behind the hippo, clearly hysterical with fear. "Eyes like the devil! Soul as dark as his name! It's him headmaster, the one they all talk about. Sirius Black!" Another shriek of terror and the woman was hiding again, Vlad's eyes on Harry. Was Black really in Hogwarts?

-YDHP-

 **Long Harry side to make up for only-Vlad chapter before. Also, I think this might be a day late, I get confused by days of the week at times.**


	15. Memories Mixed

**Sorry this is late, so were both my other active stories because I for some reason, cannot upload any new chapters. I think my internets playing up, it's frustrating to miss the one week deadline you set yourself when you have the chapters written! Hopefully, this isn't** ** _too_** **late.**

 **However,since I had extra time to review this while I waited for my internet to work again, I did have a go at separating out the dialogue for something to do! Let me know if this is better and I will *try* (no guarantees) to keep it that way.**

 **Nothing exciting to write in this authors note other than thank you to all the new followers and favouriters who have joined Chosen Two recently! Welcome to my version (borrowed from the Queen JK with every intent to return at the end of Chosen Two) of Hogwarts!**

-YDHP-

There was a general buzz of gossip as every student in the school was shifted to the Great Hall, and Dumbledore waved his wand and suddenly the floor was covered in squishy sleeping bags, naturally, in bright purple. The headmaster really had strange taste in colours. Harry, Vlad and Hermione grabbed three and located a corner, watching as prefects and the Head Boy and Girl paced around the students, Percy puffed up with pride and barking orders for lights out in ten minutes.

Vlad rolled his eyes, wand clutched next to him and eyes on Harry as everyone climbed into their new beds for the night. The whispers about Black still vibrated through the air, no matter how many times Percy and the Slytherin prefects told them to be quiet, but eventually everyone started falling asleep. Harry was asleep, but Vlad couldn't settle, needing to see his mate was safe with that lunatic in the school. If Black was already here, was there any point to those dementors?

Eyes closed, face serene and relaxed, Harry shifted slightly in his sleep and Hermione turned over on his other side.

"The towers have been searched" that was Snape's voice "and the dungeons."

"I checked the grounds, the empty classrooms" that was Bertrand "and even the greenhouses have been checked. No sign he's still here, but the scent of wizard and canine was evident outside Gryffindor tower when it was cleared. Black was here."

The adults spoke in hushed whispers, but they were stood very near to where Harry, Vlad and Hermione were sleeping and he could hear them clearly.

"I didn't really expect Black to linger. And no, Severus, I do not think anyone helped him gain entry to the school. Especially tonight, of all nights." The headmaster spoke softly, but his voice carried the command of no arguments. Tonight was a full moon, and Vlad was certain that comment was aimed at Lupin. Did Snape suspect the werewolf of working with Black? Was the wolf putting Harry in danger? Bertrand said canine, not wolf though, which confused Vlad slightly.

Barely clamping down on the urge to hunt out Lupin, full moon or not, Vlad was certain Bertrand knew he was still awake at least and tried not to let his magic act in defence. Harry was right next to him, safe and unharmed. He could stay and keep watch all night right here, everything was fine. The night dragged on, occasional whispers in the otherwise thick silence but eventually the ceiling started to lighten as the day began.

The students were sent back to their houses with the prefects and their individual heads of house escorting them, to change and clear the hall before breakfast began. There was a hiccup in the proceedings when the fat lady refused to come back to her portrait, and Gryffindor tower had no guardian. Until they found a volunteer, in the form of a completely bonkers knight in armour, with a sword too big and a horse too small.

"That's Sir Cadagon. He's insane, runs after us on the way to Divination challenging everyone to a duel like we can sword fight a painting."

"Blaggard! Duel me you scurvy cur!"

Dean's description was already proving accurate, the portrait brandishing his sword at the slightest provocation, or no provocation at all as everyone entered the common room gossiping. Separating to individual dormitories, Vlad disappeared briefly to change in the bathroom and came back out to his dorm mates in various states of undress, debating the concerns about Black as they rooted through trunks.

"Let's talk about this later, after breakfast when Hermione and the twins and half of Gryffindor all end up in here raving about it."

At the mention of food Seamus was a force to be reckoned with, changing quickly and urging everyone else to hurry. Vlad hung back to wait for Harry, who was hissing to Lily. His own familiar was nowhere to be seen, but Vlad wasn't concerned - she had slowed down Quirrell possessed by Voldemort, and the dementor on the train, she could escape Black with ease.

"Ready to go?"

Harry nodded, guiding Lily into the 'travel pouch' Vlad had made for them and slipping her into his pocket. The two headed down after the others, the Great Hall abuzz with rumours. The Hogwarts gossip machine had Vlad already overhearing from an excited Hufflepuff first year that Black had actually held several students at wand point and demanded they turn over to 'the dark side'.

"Funny, I think we might have noticed that."

Harry said, sarcasm laced through the words as they slotted in to the two seats between Hermione and Neville. Vlad started on breakfast, as he had actually been awake all night and his body cried out for energy. There were already issues of the Sunday Prophet being waved around, the Hogwarts break in front page news all of ten hours after the fact.

"How did they even find out? Every student was in the Great Hall while the teachers searched. Who sent them an owl, Phantom?"

Vlad shrugged, having no answer to satisfy the question - he wondered the same thing. Harry turned towards him, and Vlad found himself handing over the blueberry jam before his mate even asked. Realising people were staring at him, Vlad shrugged.

"What? Harry's the only person I know who likes that stuff, I don't know why the elves don't just put tracing charms on it so it all floats to him every morning."

Harry held the jar for a second in surprise, then smiled good-naturedly as the others laughed and joked about Vlad being 'psychic jam boy'. Relieved the moment had passed with nobody thinking he paid too much attention to Harry's habits, Vlad continued with his eggs and let the rampant stories about Black surround him, smiling internally when he saw Harry dumping copious amounts of the blueberry goop on his toast and pancakes.

Thanks to the Hogsmeade visit that felt so much longer than only a day ago, their dorm was practically bursting with sweets and candy, plus an (in Vlad's unpopular opinion) unhealthy amount of butterbeer. Both Georges, Fred, Bella and Jason ended up in the dorm alongside Hermione, the Weasley twins conjuring squishy bean bag chairs for everyone before they all got stuck in to the 'stash' on the table and the gossip.

"We would have brought Gin along, but she was talking to Percy and if I hear that he's head boy one more time I'm going to create his own personal thunderstorm to follow him around!"

Fred bit off the head of his chocolate frog, then nudged his twin and they both grinned in a way that told Vlad they would probably have detention very soon. Again. Sucking on a jellied eel (purely because it wasn't made of real invertebrate like it would be back home), Vlad leant against his trunk and chuckled as Bella and George dared Jason to try various strange sweets.

"Anyway, what do you reckon about Black? Why's he here? And how did he get past the dementors?"

The younger students couldn't _not_ know what was going on with Sirius Black - some had been raised in the magical world and would know anyway, the others would have heard or read about it. Though Vlad doubted just how much of Black's involvement in the specific circumstances leading to the death of Harry's parents was such common knowledge, more that he had killed Pettigrew and twelve muggles.

"He's after Harry, obviously. Trying to finish what you-know-who started. Sorry mate, don't worry, we'll protect you."

Whether he had been told or had guessed, the news didn't seem to affect Harry anywhere near as much as it did Vlad, and everyone else looked a bit shaken or surprised by what Fred and George came out with.

"After Harry? Really?"

"Yeah, dad was talking to mum about it. Our dad works at the Ministry. Speaking of which, what do your parents do?"

They were clearly changing the subject, trying to draw attention off Harry and Vlad was grateful, even if he couldn't answer with "hunting peasants and draining their blood" about his own father, and Vlad had no idea what his mother did other than shopping. He, Harry, Neville and Draco sat quietly, having no answer for the question because of a multitude of reasons.

He knew Hermione had muggle parents who were dentists, and that Jason's father was dead. He learnt that George's mother was an artist and sculptor, her father a mechanic who fixed cars and machines. Jason's mother was a healer, she worked on long term patients in their homes, and Bella said her parents both worked in psychology of some kind. Seamus was a half blood, his muggle father ran a restaurant, which explained his love of food Vlad guessed, and met Seamus' mother when she was having a business meeting at that very place in Ireland - she worked in supplying apothecaries all over the UK.

Even after over two years, there was still so much to learn about each other. Dean's father taught children sports - again, explaining the football obsession Vlad expected, and his mother taught maths to oldet students, both muggles.

"You younger kids, take these."

Fred and George gave the three first years small black boxes, and Fred gave Jason an extra one 'for his snake brother' with a wink. The three held them up in confusion, especially when the twins said not to open them.

"What are they?"

"A little thing we uh... picked up. If you ever run into Black, toss them on the ground and it will make a big black cloud appear, gives you time to run and hide. Peruvian instant darkness powder, but it's kind of volatile, so don't open the box unless you have to. We're gonna get them to all the first and second years, third and up learn to defend themselves better. Don't tell anyone you have them though, kind of against school rules."

Hermione glared at them for rule breaking with the new kids, but didn't complain out loud - they _were_ protecting them. The three pocketed the boxes with thanks, then remembered they had homework to do and disappeared off after stealing a few more sweets with giggles. Fred and George went off presumably to harass their brother or rescue their sister, and Hermione glared after them but wilted under Draco's questioning look.

"Come on, it's not like those boxes are dangerous. It's to protect them against this nutter that apparently broke into Hogwarts. Don't worry, we know not to let Fred and George actually get them in trouble. Though they do plenty of that themselves. George lives up to her namesake, that's for sure."

The two exchanged soft smiles, then hexes when Seamus and Dean wolf whistled, as though every one didn't know the two were crushing like mad on each other. Both studious, tied for first or second in class with either each other or Vlad in every subject except Defence - Harry was top of that class, his mate innately skilled at defensive magic - and strong-willed but fiercely loyal, caring friends. They were pretty well matched... assuming they actually went ahead and admitted it to each other.

* * *

Harry had already guessed Black was after him, since he had been the one to turn the Potters over to Voldemort, Harry was unfinished business. So to have it confirmed didn't change much, just added motivation to them all learning defensive and offensive charms. A week after the Halloween 'break in', the whole of Gryffindor was going absolutely spare with their new tower guardian. Sir Cadagon changed the password at least ten times a day, and usually to utterly ridiculous things.

"Pox ridden gnome!"

"Nope. That password expired this morning, you might be an imposter!"

Wondering if it was against the rules to hex guardian portraits, Harry knew no other portrait would volunteer for the job, and the guardian portrait had every right to change the password. So did McGonogall, but Sir Cadagon would change it again within hours. Even Dumbledore couldn't order him to stop it.

"The new password is Mighty Steed, now open up Cadagon!"

Thw sixth year prefect girl let them in, and Harry went straight to the dormitory rather than listen to everyone in the common room _still_ going on about Sirius Black. Vlad was already there, charming Neville's fluffy slippers to dance around the dorm by themselves much to the dismay of their friend.

"Hi Harry. Sorry, Vlad is being really immature!"

Vlad protested, smacked Neville on the cheek gently with one of the slippers and then let them land neatly atop the boys trunk before turning full attention to Harry with a smile.

"How was Quidditch practice?"

Harry shrugged, dropping onto his bed with a groan as his muscles protested. He loved flying, but Oliver Wood was determined to win the cup, fully exhaust every player and in fairness to the captain, Harry lost them the last match by falling off his broom because of the dementors. Which reminded him, he had tea with Remus tomorrow morning after breakfast, he could ask about the dementor fighting classes - the man had looked a little pale and ill in the week, so Harry hadn't asked.

"Oliver is insane, and the twins mucking about didn't help. Oh well, I think we had a good practice, and I am so happy it's not long until dinner. Crazy keeper made us practice through lunch, I think Katie and Alicia wanted to eat him."

Vlad chuckled, tossed Harry a cauldron cake and a wrapped chocolate frog before going back to the parchment he was reading - it was library issue, Harry could see the stamp on the back. Vlad gave his questioning eyes a "I'll tell you later" look, and Harry nodded shortly, then set about inhaling the cake in his hand.

Dinner on a Saturday was always loud, everyone full of energy with no lessons and still a whole day of weekend to look forward to, which inevitably led to most putting off their homework. This meant Vlad and Harry could commandeer a quiet corner of the library, which was only populated by seventh years and Ravenclaws at this time on a Saturday.

"So what were you looking at earlier?"

"Bloodlines, check this out. I found the name Peverell a few times, that's one of the names in your dreams right?"

Vlad pointed out the names of interest, and Harry was surprised - his friend hadn't actually brought up the dreams again, and Harry hadn't had another yet. Still, he shouldn't be too surprised, since Vlad had promised and the vampire teen had yet to break his word to Harry ever. He had another couple of references in books - Madam Pince must think Vlad had a bizarre fascination with magical history, the amount of time he spent researching founders era stuff.

"This is great and all, but all these records tell us is that the name is 'extinct in the male line'. So even though Solace kept the surname, somewhere along the lines she had a solitary female descendant who didn't. Still, it's a start right?"

His blue eyes were lit up, he seemed to get a real rush out of learning all these obscure things and Harry envied that sometimes, he was more brawn than brains in some regards - his magical powers were certainly better than his academics. Maybe he should start working out and eating more, actually look a little bulkier. Vlad was slender, but then so was Ingrid, and she ate plenty of junk food. Maybe it was a vampire thing. Realising he was going completely off track in his own head, Harry smiled at Vlad.

"Yeah, it's a start. If we can narrow down the time frame the name went out, we might be able to find out who was the last and go from there. This is brilliant Vlad, thank you."

They didn't have time to get stuck in to that research then before the library closed, and between unfinished homework and tea with Remus Harry had no time sunday either. Vlad said he would make a start in the morning, though not before the two got up extra early sunday morning, snuck in to the kitchens as the elves were making breakfast and doped the pumpkin juice with levitating lemon-candies, crushed into powder. Vlad cast a weird charm on all the jugs, leaving Harry confused.

"What's that?"

"Allergy charm. They taught us it for when we turn sixteen for garlic, but anyone who's allergic to lemon won't get sick from the juice. For us it will serve more like a warning than immunity, but it could still come in useful."

That was impressive forethought, allergies weren't common in the magical world according to Draco, but with at least half the students half-blood or muggle-born, that may not cover them too. Harry was sniggering into his bacon sandwich twenty minutes into breakfast, various students cringing and then floating out of their seats, half asleep and still clutching their pumpkin juice cups. To cover them, Harry and Vlad both drank the tainted juice and lifted from the benches, hopefully pulling off surprised or indignant.

The teachers had eyes on the Gryffindor table, but nobody was obviously aware of the prank - even Fred and George looked surprised as they levitated. Most people thought it hilarious, actively drinking more of the juice when they worked it out and laughter rang through the hall. Vlad left for the library again soon after, and Harry waited to see Remus leave before he took off himself.

"Sorry we missed this last weekend Harry, I was very unwell."

He shrugged it off, smiling at the teacher as they sat in their usual seats and the tea tray appeared. Remus looked fine now, like he had never been ill only days before and it piqued his interest, but Harry had more pressing thoughts on his mind.

"Are you still going to teach me to fight dementors? Only, I had Quidditch practice yesterday and remembered... I don't want to let Oliver down, nor do I want to lose again. And I definitely don't want to hear the screams in my head."

The words left him in a rush once he got started, but they were only some of the reasons he wanted to not be weak against those foul things. He _hated_ that he had to be the one who was so affected, and with those dreams, these memories of awful times in other peoples lives clear as day in his mind, Harry was terrified of what else he might see or hear or feel under their power.

"I don't proclaim to be an expert, but I agree they are too interested to leave you unprotected. Given how much time you spend with Vlad, I'll suggest you come and see me when he sees his private tutor? Is that agreeable?"

Harry agreed instantly, and hoped he had no continuing issues with his magic that required him going to the sessions with Vlad.

"Yeah, that works for now."

Time seemed to blur by in anticipation, and Harry was looking at Remus stood in front of a trunk that rattled ominously, waiting for instructions.

"The charm I'm going to try and teach you is a difficult spell, beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It's called the Patronus charm."

"How does it work?"

Harry clutched his wand readily, anxious to get started.

"It creates a patronus, a sort of shield that the dementor feeds on instead of you. But the patronus can't feel pain or sadness, so the dementor can't hurt it."

Harry had an image of him hiding behind a Hagrid-shaped shield wielding a club, beating off the dementor.

"Without wand first, if you please Harry. Thank you. Repeat after me. Expecto Patronum."

Harry repeated it, then reached for his wand but Remus stopped him again, shaking his head.

"The incantation is only half the job. You need to think of a happy memory, a powerful one. Happiest you can think of. Allow it to fill you up, and focus on that as you speak the incantation. Are you ready for a try?"

Now the chance was there, Harry suddenly felt he was being pitched in at the deep end, but he raised his wand and searched his brain. A happy memory... flying. He loved flying. Picturing the first time he rode a broom, soaring through the air with a natural talent, Harry nodded. Remus waved his wand a little, charming open the lock of the trunk. The lid opened slowly, but then a scabby, rotting hand appeared in the space and the room grew cold.

Harry couldn't remember the spell, couldn't remember what he was thinking as the candles flickered out one by one around him, as the sounds of his mothers screams filled his head. Then another memory sprung up, Sorrow kissing her husband and daughter goodbye as she awaited hee death at the hands of her rapist, her brother. That was the worst moment of her entire life, and she had faced it with strength and compassion beyond anything expected of Salazar Slytherin's sister.

"Expecto Patronum!"

He wasn't sure where he found the will, the words but Solace's smiling face filled his mind and a huge, white cloud exploded from his wand right before everything finally went black.

"Harry? Harry!"

His eyes flew open, his elbows and back sore from where he had apparently hit the floor hard. The dementor was gone, the candles alight but Harry felt sick, shaken. Remus helped him sit, then pushed a chocolate frog in his hand.

"Eat it, or Madam Pomfrey will be after both our blood."

Harry chewed obediently, swallowing thickly as the warmth edged through his system from the chocolate.

"That was one nasty dementor."

"Oh no, that was a boggart. The real thing will be much, much worse. But you managed something on your first try, that is astonishing magic Harry. What were you thinking about?"

He shook his head, unable to explain that he had used someone else's memories to tackle his own demons, struggling to his feet and wiping his mouth.

"Again."

This time he tried to use his own memories, but once the screaming started Harry couldn't help digging for any strength he could and spitting out the spell, producing a puff of white smoke that slowed the dementor like an irritating cobweb, then it was advancing again. When Harry scrambled for any sort of _happy_ memory himself, the only times he could think involved Vlad and/or Hermione. Holding their faces at the forefront of his mind, Harry gripped his wand tighter.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Something more than smoke burst from his wand, brilliant white and glowing as the dementor was stopped completely in its tracks.

-YDHP-

 **If you want to post reviews guessing what Harry's patronus will be, you'll get an inbox message of confirmation if you get it right! (and are logged in to an account, obviously).**

 **Again, I'm terribly sorry this went up late, I'm hoping my internet is fixed properly by the time I get this up.**


	16. Missing Marking

**Taking a day off from trawling the lands for Pokemon, so lets do some writing!**

-YDHP-

The phoenix that burst from his wand chased the Boggart-dementor around the whole classroom, eventually guided by Harry's wand to stalk it back into the trunk, and Remus slammed the trunk lid closed, beaming.

"Fantastic Harry!"

Smiling, Harry felt a little strung out even as Remus handed him more chocolate. He ate it mechanically, feeling shaken by the memories that had raced through his mind and the energy it took to conjure the spell - definitely beyond a normal third year. Still, he did note dimly that for once, his magic hadn't jumped straight to snake and was somewhat relieved, unsure Remus would have understood.

"Let's go again."

His teacher looked unsure, but opened the trunk again when Harry raised his wand, facing the dementor that rose out and pulling Vlad and Hermione to the forefront of his mind again.

"Expecto Patronum!"

The phoenix shot out again, and with less surprise Harry could observe it more. It wasn't totally identical to Fawkes, but close enough that he was certain it was definitely a phoenix. It was white through and through, but he could see the shades of white where it would be deep red or shimmering gold. It turned beady eyes to Harry, still holding off the dementor with it's long, graceful wings as though waiting for instructions. Guiding it to force the dementor back in it's prison, safely locked away, Harry ended the spell and stumbled slightly.

"I think that's enough for tonight. That was truly remarkable, astounding even."

Harry lacked the energy to argue, feeling heavy with chocolate when he swallowed the honeydukes pressed into his hand.

"Also, a phoenix? I can't help but wonder, you see an immortal creature as your protector perhaps?"

For some reason, that comment struck a chord in Harry, but he couldn't place why. Shrugging, he licked chocolate residue off his teeth and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"Is the shape of a patronus important? I mean, yours was just a ball of light on the train according to the others."

"It's usually symbolic, though not important to the actual defence the spell offers. A hummingbird would be as effective as a wolf in that regard."

This left Harry's mind whirring as he walked back to the tower, clutching a note from Professor Lupin incase he was seen out after curfew. He was thinking of Vlad for happy memories, but Hermione too and she wasn't going to become an immortal creature on her sixteenth birthday. He was no closer to working it out when he found Sir Cadagon picking a fight with a first year who hadn't heard the latest password.

"Lancelot!"

"At last, a true member! Go in, fine young lion."

Rolling his eyes, Harry let the little boy clamber into the portrait hole first before following, taking a cursory glance to see no Vlad or Hermione in the common room before he headed for the stairs, waving at George and her friends as he went. None of the other third year boys were in the dorm, potentially catching up on their homework last minute in the library (again). Stood under the shower, Harry let the hot water run over his cold skin, not quite painful but he couldn't take it for too long.

Switching it off, he checked nobody else was in the bathroom, enjoying a few moments without his glasses on but very aware of his elongated pupils. Vlad had said he may be able to get them to gp back, but in the midst of everything happening, Harry hadn't even tried. Squinting at his reflection, he pictured his 'human' looking eyes, the ones glamoured onto his glasses. All he achieved was a headache, and when he heard footsteps outside the bathroom door he shoved his glasses back on, picked up his dirty laundry and exited the bathroom.

"Harry! You would think you remembered to magic your hair dry by now!"

Glaring at Seamus and shaking his messy, dripping hair in that direction like a dog, Harry picked up his wand from his bedside table. Quickly whispering the spell to dry his damp hair, he turned back and bowed to a scowling, water-flecked Seamus.

"Satisfied?"

He only got another glare, and a laughing hiss from Lily behind him as he finished getting ready for bed while the other boys bustled around him, various possessions scattered around as they rooted through trunks, exchanged sweets and chattered away about things Harry didn't quite keep track of. He did notice Vlad coming back, looking tired but smiling at Harry all the same before he vanished into the bathroom to change.

Hissing absently back and forth to his familiar, Harry felt the evening catching up with him and laid down, drawing the bedcurtains enough to shadow his face and hide his eyes when he took his glamoured glasses off.

 _"Sunny, stop levitating your dolls please!" They were only flimsy material things, but mother and daughter had made them together - without magic - and Solace treasured them. Her magic was apparent at a very early age, barely three months old before her crib rocked itself, six months by the time she was already making unintelligible hissing sounds and not yet a year old before she could amuse herself making things float. Even now, she could still make things move around the air with her mind alone._

 _"Sorry, I don't always notice I'm doing it!" Focusing, Solace brought her toys back down. It was a struggle, but now she and her father had managed to adjust to her name being "Sunny", though she still referred to herself as Solace in her own head, and her father sometimes whispered it at night when he comforted her after her nightmares._

 _She was taking an experimental potion for them, supposed to suppress any dreams at all but the formula wasn't perfect yet. But the things she saw at night, Solace was happy to be the test subject. Their school physician, Nurse Greta, was a wizened old witch who looked far more dangerous than she was, and had taken a special liking to 'Sunny', who was prone to accidental bursts of magic and scraps with students who agreed with 'pureblood only' practices. When she confided in the nurse about her nightmares, she had offered the chance to test the potion._

 _Tonight was one of the nights it didn't work, back home for one of the school holidays and she had woken her father with pained sounds. He made soothing noises as he had since she was a little girl, and they sat by the fire drinking warmed milk and cocoa powder. "What was it tonight?" He wouldn't push if she didn't want to talk about it, but there was nothing Solace couldn't talk to her father about._

 _"The muggles. The wizards do such terrible things to them, treat them like animals to be slaughtered, toys to be played with." Whenever the torture curses were used in her nightmares, Solace would feel ghosts of pain in her own body, though nothing like the sheer agony she could see twisting the muggles faces. Her muggle father listened as Solace talked, brushing a kiss over her temple and sweeping her long black hair away when she went back to bed. Even at fourteen, a young woman nearly old enough to marry, Solace would always be his little girl - he still told her that every night she was home._

 _Sammy, the Runespoor snake she had had since she was eight, flicked his tongue out against Artan's wrist in his usual sign of affection, then slithered up to rest along Solace's bed frame, a guardian as she slept. Before long, it was time for her to return to the school she learnt magic at, and leaving was always a tearful affair. Clutching her father close, Solace picked up her trunk by one handle and then picked up the 'tele-port-key' - an object spelled to take students with non-magical parents to and from their schools for holidays._

 _After dropping off her things to be carried back to the dormitory, her next stop was the nurses office - to discuss with Nurse Greta the ups and downs of the potion over the holidays. "I see it's improving the infrequency, but not the severity?" Solace nodded - she had them less often, but it did nothing for the actual nightmares that got through. "Well, there's a new batch on it's way. You can start it tomorrow if you like, but no potion tonight so it's out of your system."_

 _Steely blue eyes twinkled with genuine affection as the nurse smiled, sending her on her way for dinner. Having grown up on simple foods, she and her father mostly self sufficient with their own cow and vegetable patch, plus a nearby river to fish in, Solace always stuck to the basic meals - she didn't need anything else._

 _"So Sunny, how was your holiday?" the translation spells were automatic, though her French was hugely improved by now. "Good. I do hate leaving my father alone so much, but he's so proud of me I owe him doing the best I can. Yours?" The French girl, with her tanned skin, long blonde hair and shimmering green eyes, looked very different to Solace, who was pale, with silver-grey eyes and dark hair, but 'Sunny' and Gabriella were the best of friends, and Solace was genuinely happy to see her again. Gabriella also came from half muggle, half magic parents and Solace hoped that one day, she would be someone to trust with the truth of who she was._

Shaking his head to clear the haze, Harry fumbled in the dark for his wand, quill and paper. Lighting the wand, he scrawled down the details of the dream he remembered. This one was more... homely, he supposed, than he was used to, but Solace seemed to have been an exceptionally bright, friendly and fierce girl in spite of so many things. And if he wasn't mistaken, reminded Harry of himself a fair bit. Strange dreams, strange magic, parseltongue and picking fights with people who believed blood was more important than heart.

He wasn't sure what this dream was actually supposed to show him, but perhaps it would all come together one day. Until then, Harry supposed unless he too, wanted to take a dreamless sleep potion constantly, he couldn't do a great deal about the dreams.

"Harry?"

Vlad's voice sounded from across the room, and Harry realised his lit wand was visible from that bed - the blue eyes were reflecting light back at him as Vlad yawned and rubbed his face.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"It's fine, I gotta pee."

Vlad ambled over to the bathroom, steps quiet and careful even half asleep so he wouldn't disturb any nearby sleepers. When he came back out, Harry had extinguished his wand light but Vlad still seemed to be able to see him. Oh right. Vampire. Night creature.

"You alright?"

Harry knew innately that Vlad wouldn't go back to sleep until he was sure Harry was ok, the boy was a worrier, especially about his best friend. His dream hadn't been that bad, so he nodded and watched as Vlad padded back to his own bed, the sound of bedsprings squeaking as he settled down and murmured a goodnight to Harry.

Their day started with yet another argument with the guardian portrait, who had started wandering around to challenge the other paintings to duels. Between that and his frequent password changes, half the time they couldn't actually get in the tower.

"Why was Godric the only one not to have any secret passages into his spot?"

"Because it's a tower, how do you get into a tower secretly idiot?"

"You're the idiot!"

Harry listened as Gred and Forge bickered good naturedly about such things, knowing they had shown Vlad more of the secret passages than they had Harry, but that was probably because they had been his new best friends while Harry was... contemplating the future vampire. Still, Vlad was happy to share the knowledge whenever they came across one on their travels now, but Harry wondered where the twins learnt them all.

He brought that up with them a couple of days later, while Vlad and Hermione were buried in some Arithmancy reading (not even homework - for fun!) and he was losing horribly to the twins at exploding snap in the courtyard.

"How do you know all these secret tunnels? I know you've been here longer, but I'm curious."

They shared identical questioning glances with each other, then smiled at the same time. A little eerie.

"You'll find out. Sometime around Christmas eh Gred?"

"Definitely Forge."

The cards blew up again then, singing hair and eyebrows and fingers and jumper sleeves. Some nearby Hufflepuffs burst out laughing, watching the Weasley twins go totally over the top in reactions while Harry patted out the sparks calmly.

"No no, if you go into runic warding you can't use those calculations, they aren't flexible enough."

"I see your point, but not many equations work in both numerical and runic warding, I was just using it as an example."

Harry zoned back out of their conversation, rooting through Vlad's backpack for his book on broomsticks - he still needed to replace his broken Nimbus, as much as he enjoyed flying on Draco's Firebolt it wasn't _his,_ and Harry wanted a broom all his own. With Draco forcing the gold on them in return for their help with his parents, his vaults and the occasional saving his life, Harry could easily afford a brand new broom, but he wanted to research which was best for quick turns and speed, not just something that went fast. He was a seeker after all.

He did raise an eyebrow in query at Vlad and Hermione when they greeted two third year Slytherin students - he wasn't sure of their names, just that they weren't Crabbe and Goyle.

"The pale one with grey eyes is Theodore Nott, and the boy with almost no hair is Blaise Zabini. They are in Arithmancy with us, and perfectly cordial. You know us, working for interhouse co-operation."

Nodding agreeably, Harry showed Vlad where he was reading - he could use a second opinion and Vlad had his own books on the magic and math that went into broom making.

"The Firebolt probably is your best bet, for the speed it goes at the turning capabilities are better than say, a Twister, and the new Comet is for keepers, can only go fast for short bursts. Though the Nimbus 2001 is only a little slower than a Firebolt, and turns just as well. And you fly like a lunatic."

He was a little surprised at the thought out answer, though not at all surprised by Vlad complaining about how he flew.

"Thanks Vlad. Geek."

His friend shoved his arm, grinning and his eyes flicked down to Harry's neck for a second. He almost worried, but then remembered he had the necklace Vlad gave him on and smiled in return. He hadn't had any use for the emergency portkey, but that didn't mean he never would, and he knew Vlad had given him the snake shaped pendant as a sign of acceptance too - proof Vlad didn't care where he came from, only who he was.

It was almost always glamoured to look like a roughly carved lions head, and just long enough to be hidden by most of his clothes, but like his glasses, Harry didn't hide it when it was just the two of them. He didn't have to hide much with Vlad, it was freeing. Unlike with Remus, who knew many things about his life, but not nearly as much about Harry himself. Waving Vlad off to tutoring, Harry re-glamoured his necklace and headed to his dementor-fighting class with the defence teacher.

"Ready?"

Harry nodded, watching as the lid of the trunk creaked open, the room growing cold enough that he could see Remus' breath, but not his own as a chill ran through him. Closing his eyes, Harry pulled the image of his two best friends up and focused on the Patronus charm. What surprised them both was the bright light that filled the room - Harry hadn't yet spoken.

The phoenix flew straight for the dementor-boggart this time, all but knocking it straight back into the trunk, which locked automatically.

"Harry. Did you just perform an incredibly complicated, powerful charm silently?"

Turning to face his teacher, Harry shrugged.

"I've never tried silent magic before, but if you say so?"

He swallowed the chocolate dutifully, knowing he wouldn't be allowed to try again until he did so and this time, he focused on doing the spell without speaking the incantation. It worked, perfectly so, and Harry couldn't quite believe his eyes.

"Well, I have to say, I'm immensely impressed. How do you feel? Drained or low at all?"

"Not at all. I feel amazing, actually."

It was true, Harry felt like liquid heat rushed through his veins, like he could do anything right now. A little overwhelmed, but in a good way.

"Right. Let's try something simpler. Levitate this chair, silently?"

Pointing his wand there, Harry wondered if this was how Vlad felt, discovering strange talents out of nowhere as he thought 'wingardium leviosa' and they both stepped back as the chair flew upwards, smashing into the ceiling a full twenty feet above their heads.

"Good job there's no vampires here."

The joke was perhaps a little tactless, but Harry couldn't help snorting in amusement as they dodged a few splintered pieces of wood that rained down. Guiding the remnants of the broken chair to the ground, Harry grinned.

"I have to go find Vlad, he understands magic better than me. Thanks Remus!"

Harry dashed off, checking his watch - seven thirty, half an hour until curfew, he could make it to Bertrand's quarters by then. Catching sight of one of the secret passages Vlad had already shown him, and noting the empty corridors, he quickly mumbled the password to the portrait, getting a drunken hiccup from the portly wizard with an eternally full glass of wine as it swung open, revealing a dark tunnel.

Figuring he could try again, Harry thought 'lumos' and watched in amazement as his wand tip sparked, flooding the tunnel with light. He was doing magic wordlessly, and easily - that was sixth year at least, according to Hermione when talking about Vlad. The portrait closed behind him, leaving Harry alone in the passage that bore marks of previous generations. There were singe marks on walls, empty cauldrons with unrecognizable, congealed and probably illicit potions in them. There was a strange scratching noise, but when he looked around the floor Harry couldn't see a thing.

Old parchment littered the floor, faded books stacked in cobweb filled corners and Harry thought he saw a cat. Maybe Phantom was around here too. It wouldn't surprise him - the Bastion was a mischievous critter. Heading for the stairs that would take him a few floors up - faster than the Grand Staircase and no moving or trick steps.

There was a dull thud, then another, and another and Harry was now fairly certain something was wrong. Turning around quickly, he lifted his wand to cast the wandlight further and wished he had thought to carry his invisibility cloak. What with that Black guy after him, he realised he shouldn't be wandering empty tunnels alone and quickened his pace.

"Harry."

The whisper sent an unpleasant chill down his spine, and he didn't recognize the voice. Swallowing thickly, Harry clutched his wand tighter and turned towards the sound. He didn't see a thing, but something hit the back of his head heavily and Harry saw nothing but blackness.

* * *

Vlad couldn't put his fang on it, but something was making him unsettled. It wasn't just that Harry was with the werewolf, there was something else. It made it hard to focus on his studying - poisons and antidotes tonight, Bertrand and Snape both present.

Neither vampire could miss the potions teacher scratching his arm absent mindedly, especially as it went on for at least an hour. When the clock struck ten, tired and the negative feeling growing, they were just packing up for the night when Snape yelped in pain, clutching his forearm like it was about to fall off if he dared let go.

Bertrand yanked the fabric back and Vlad couldn't help gasping at the tattoo - Voldemorts mark on his followers, faded before but now it looked burned anew, the snake protruding from the skull _moving._

"That can't be good. What does it mean?"

Anxiety mounting, Vlad struggled for patience as the teacher struggled for words through the pain.

"Dark Lord. Only he can activate it this way."

Sharing a scared look with Bertrand, Vlad hoped he was hallucinating or having a nightmare of some sort.

"I'll go to Albus. Get him to the tower. Find Harry."

Harry. Instinct to protect his mate surging, Vlad barely waited for Bertrand to grab his arm to flit them along before he took off running. He growled angrily when he saw the portrait empty, Sir Cadagon off again at the worst possible time.

Seconds away from tearing the portrait from the wall, Vlad jumped in surprise when Bertrand tapped his shoulder and pointed to the Weasley twins behind him.

"Tell me you have that map."

His expression must have shown he was in no mood for games, Fred pulling the map from his jumper and tapping his wand on it.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. I presume you want us to find Harry?"

Nodding frantically and watching as the ink lines filled their magical map, the four of them spread the map across the corridor floor and scanned it for Harry's name. His heart racing and cold, fearful sweat prickling on his skin, Vlad couldn't find it. Nor could he _feel_ Harry, which he normally could if he focused hard enough on the bond always, always locked inside him.

"Any luck?"

"No."

"Me neither."

Bertrand shook his head too, and Vlad was counting on his senses to be accurate.

"Not a word to anyone you two. If Harry turns up on the map, go straight to the headmasters office and tell whoever is there where you saw him. The password is Licorice Snaps. Come on Vlad."

The twins barely had time to nod before Vlad and Bertrand dashed off, clearing a corner before they could slip into a secret passage that cut down to the third floor faster - the headmasters office.

Snape was already there, the wizened old headmaster leant over his arm and peering at it closely. Remus Lupin was there too, but the smell of werewolf barely registered in Vlad's panic.

"Harry's missing. You better not have anything to do with this!"

Uncaring that he shouldn't be threatening a teacher, Vlad's instincts were burning higher and higher as nobody was telling him where Harry could be or why the 'dark mark' was active, and there was absolutely zero chance the two weren't connected.

"He left me at seven thirty, to find you. I'm guessing he didn't?"

"No, I finished tutoring at ten and that's when everything started happening. Why was he coming to find me?"

It warmed Vlad a little to hear Harry was coming to him, but that faded almost instantly beneath the terror of his missing mate.

"He uh, discovered he could do a few spells silently. His first thought was that you would understand, and he ran off to find you. He was happy and healthy when he left my classroom, I swear."

Vlad didn't want to trust the wolf after what he had done, but he didn't _think_ the teacher was lying. And by the sounds of it, Harry was getting one of his power spurts, which hopefully would help.

"He has an emergency portkey from me, but he hasn't used it yet which worries me because it means he's restrained somehow."

He wasn't even going to explain why or how Harry had it, nor how he would know Harry had used it. The portkey could take Harry to Stokely Castle, Malfoy Manor, Bertrand's home and the Chamber of Secrets - there were wards that would set off if someone portkeyed in to the three homes, and he would feel if Harry was in Hogwarts, he was certain. Nobody seemed to be giving Vlad answers, and he was growing angry at this... this inactivity. His mate was missing! Magic thrumming beneath his skin, they all turned to the sound of the door opening, multiple angry sounds aimed at the newcomer.

"I know who has Harry. Just hear me out."

He looked even more haggard than the newspaper photos, but Vlad was sure it was Sirius Black stood before them. Snape had his wand aimed at the man, Bertrand's shoulders set defensively and Vlad was prepared to tear the mans throat out for what he had done to Harry's parents, what he was trying to do to Harry.

"Wait. Let's hear what he has to say."

Dumbledore voiced possibly the most unpopular opinion Vlad had ever heard, but if there was the slightest chance this bastard knew where Harry was, he owed it to his mate to listen.

"One minute. Talk."

-YDHP-

 **Oooooo. I think this is a day early, hopefully that makes up for last weeks late update!**


	17. Idiotic Idiots

**Could be early, could be late. They changed my meds again and I keep forgetting what day it is... It's not fun but let's do some fanfiction!**

-YDHP-

"Who has Harry?"

Vlad demanded, in no mood to wait or ask politely. Sirius Black looked at him oddly for a moment, then the amassed adults behind him and gulped.

"Wormtail. You know him as Peter Pettigrew."

"Pettigrew is dead. You killed him!"

Black shook his head, looking over at Lupin but Vlad didn't care for their broken school friendship.

"No I didn't. He blew that street up and cut off his finger, then transformed into a rat and vanished because he knew that would lead to me being blamed for it all."

None of this was helping find Harry, and Vlad was growing desperate.

"Let's pretend I believe you, or care. Why does this Wormtail have Harry? Where is he?"

"Because Wormtail was turned, he followed You-Know-Who. I saw him drag Harry off into the secret passage, but he had disapparated before I could catch up in time. Then I had to wait for you to notice he was missing, or you would only think I had taken him."

"That was over two hours ago! If he's dead because you waited around" the thought stung, Vlad was sure he would know but still "I will kill you myself."

Running through potential ways to find Harry, Vlad turned to Bertrand desperately - only he was fast enough to get them away from the teachers. He was fairly sure he heard the tutor sigh, but all of two seconds later he was being flitted along, landing with Bertrand and Severus Snape in the courtyard.

"Does the freaky tattoo tell you where to go?"

They were short on time, had maybe a minute or two until the others could catch up with them.

"Sort of. It guides apparition, but it's not like a map in my mind."

Vlad couldn't apparate, and he wasn't about to ask Snape to risk his life for Vlad. Reaching his hand out slowly, Vlad tried to focus on the magical guidance, though the dark, blackened magic was uncomfortable and clearly so was his teacher as Vlad touched the mark.

"I have to go. If you can buy me time? Great."

Glad he had perfected the invisibility spell silently, and that he had his backpack shrunk down in his pocket, Vlad ran for the Whomping Willow, ignoring Bertrand calling after him. He knew the passage under it would take him past the school boundaries to Hogsmeade, meaning he could charm a quick portkey without being followed. If he had had the time, he could have done the same in the Chamber of Secrets, but it was too late now. The first portkey took him only a couple of miles away, just to buy more time as he landed heavily in a field.

The 'sense' he had picked up, and the lack of Hogwarts wards blocking his sense of Harry meant he was going on feelings when he charmed the second portkey. Vlad had zero idea what he was potentially going to find, but Harry was in danger so it didn't matter. Feeling shaky, he grabbed for the flask of replenisher and swallowed a few mouthfuls - above the recommended dose, but he needed all the help he could get.

Shrinking his backpack back down, Vlad pocketed it and grabbed the wooden block he was using as a portkey. Whispering 'Harry' to activate it, he felt the still-terribly-uncomfortable tugging behind his stomach, magic yanking him along and every atom of his body focusing on 'feeling' for Harry. A ward of some kind slammed into him, or he into it, Vlad wasn't sure until the dizziness passed. Harry was nearby, he could feel it. His mate wasn't far, but the portkey couldn't bypass the security spells.

Looking around, there was a rotted wooden sign on the edge of a field, the vague shape of what Vlad thought was a church in the distance.

"Little Han... Hangleton."

He traced the letters, not that they told him a great deal - Vlad didn't know where Little Hangleton was. Squinting at the magical protections, he could see the wards had weak points that he could probably break. Whoever set them probably wasn't that powerful. Probably not Voldemort then. His wand was in his pocket, and though Vlad was getting used to going without it he held it anyway. That way, if anyone knocked it out of his hand, they would probably think him disarmed.

Seeking one of the weak points, almost like a crack in the wall of warding, he pressed his wand to it and murmured a finite spell. The crack extended, but didn't break open. The magic reminded him of how the Voldemort tattoo on Snape's arm had felt... Maybe one needed one of those to get through. Attempting the finite again, a small break in the wards opened up and Vlad managed to get through. This side of the spell, he could see more shapes in the dark. Graveyard?

If he strained his hearing, Vlad could hear voices. Most of all, _he could feel Harry._ Pulling Harry's invisibility cloak out of his bag, Vlad threw it around himself - he could make himself invisible without it, but perhaps he could pull Harry beneath it and get him out of danger. Spelling his shoes silent, he started walking, slow and carefully keeping eyes out for anyone. The voices grew louder, so he headed towards the sound.

Shapes that became people appeared, and there was a figure strutting, preening as he circled the others. That faded into the background when Vlad spotted the statue, some representation of an angel of death with a scythe and hood. The scythe was held up across its stony body, and in the narrow gap, there was Harry. His arms were physically trapped so he couldn't reach his necklace, his wand on the ground by his feet. Vlad summoned it silently when everyone's attention was on the bizarre, inhuman center focus - Lord Voldemort, or Tom Riddle to Vlad and Harry after so much research.

Harry's eyes seemed to follow the wand, head turning slightly and a panicked expression crossing his face. There was a stone monument near Vlad, still several feet away from anyone and he squinted to see it in the limited light. "Tom Riddle Snr" and "Tom Riddle" complete with years of birth and death, the letters worn from time and the elements. When they got out of here, there was research to be done. For now, Harry was trapped and potentially seconds from death at any moment.

When he got close enough, Vlad could smell blood. Harry's blood. Someone had hurt his mate. Taking a few seconds to look around, there was a sort of circle formed, but it had gaps - missing followers? - and there was an enormous cauldron over a fire, the main source of light. If he weren't positive it was the same person, Vlad would never have matched the attractive teen male from the Chamber of Secrets to... _this creature._

As a non-human himself, Vlad was quickly realising you didn't have to be undead to be inhuman. It was like a skeleton with skin stretched over it, no trace of fat or muscle to him. It was a little grotesque if he was honest. Now he was close enough to hear words, rather than unintelligible voices, he realised Voldemort was bragging about how he was going to kill Harry, how he was going to hurt _his mate._

Edging within touching distance of Harry, he could see the blood came from a gash on his arm, too neat to be an accident. Waiting for Voldemort to turn away again, Vlad placed his fingers on Harry's wrist, the way he had done against Quirrell, or to bolster him against the dementors. Harry jumped in surprise, but he could see the cogs turning in his mind.

"Vlad?"

The name was barely breathed, almost completely silent. Rather than answer aloud, Vlad brushed his fingers over Harry's neck, along the necklace he had given him and he had to fight not to get distracted by the fact Harry's pulse was fluttering beneath his fingertips.

"And now, my loyal followers" Voldemort was talking again, facing Harry now and looking right through Vlad "it is time to kill this bothersome child. After tonight, nobody will ever question my power again."

Vlad couldn't see a way to free Harry from the angel of death statue, focusing his magic and trying to shift it enough for Harry to reach his portkey necklace, cursing that it was touch activated right now - they both had to have hands on it to be taken, Vlad could use it and leave Harry alone if he touched it and Harry didn't. Not that that was an option. The stone arm shifted, just enough and Harry nodded infinitesimally as if to say he could reach.

Voldemort looked confused for less than half a second, as though unsure what he saw but then he was raising his wand, pointing it directly at Harry and his face turned even darker, angrier.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Vlad didn't even think, he just jumped directly in front of Harry as the bright green light shot towards them. It hit him in the chest, and the last he remembered was it must have looked like Harry had an invisible shield absorbing the killing curse.

* * *

His head hurt. That was Harry's first thought as consciousness found him again slowly. A vague memory of the passage in Hogwarts returned, the sound of scratching and a sense of unease before there was a voice, and then something hit him. Cracking one eye open, Harry couldn't see a thing. There was a stick laying on the floor a few feet away, and he could feel a sort of... muffling of the world around him. Vlad and his weird magic senses would come in handy right now.

Vlad! He had the emergency portkey Vlad had given him... but this was where Harry discovered his arms were trapped completely, pinned so tight to his chest his elbow joints were protesting and his knuckles were digging into his shoulders. The thing pinning his arms was stone, and not moving a jot. A fire blazed out of nowhere, and Harry could see his wand, laying on the ground a teasingly close distance to his feet and totally useless to him right now.

Carefully lifting his head to look over towards the flames, pain throbbing at the join between his neck and back and radiating dully down his spine, Harry squinted and saw a huge cauldron being slammed down over the fire. In the light of the flames, he could see a short, pudgy looking man with a small, pointed nose and watery, squinty eyes, all complimented with a large balding patch on the top of his head. The fire light caught him just right to make the lines in his skin vanish for a second, and Harry realised he recognised the face.

"Peter Pettigrew. But... You're dead!"

The man looked up, and that was confirmation enough for Harry. But if Pettigrew was alive... what really happened in the street when Sirius Black apparently murdered him? Spying one of the mans chubby, stubby hands, he saw the missing finger, just below the knuckle and even with magic at his disposal, it was healed unevenly.

Struggling against the stone holding him, Harry changed tack and let his muscles go as lax as possible, hoping it might allow a little wiggle room. No such luck. Scanning the surrounding area, he realised they were in a graveyard, weathered headstones scattered through the dark. Something splashed into the cavernous cauldron, and Harry felt unease settling thick in his stomach.

"I can only assume I'm going to get killed here at some point. So humour me. How did you get into Hogwarts with the dementors?"

Pettigrew froze, raising a large knife that glinted steely in the fire light.

"So few notice a rat. When the Weasley boy was in England to do his school shopping, I hid amongst his little sisters things and I was carried in like luggage."

The mans smile made Harry feel nauseous, and he remembered Ron being in Diagon Alley, back before school started for the year. Rat...

"Scabbers? You were Scabbers? I have to tell you, you must have really liked gingers, since you were Percy Weasleys pet first."

Harry was rambling, he knew, but any words he dragged from Pettigrew could be useful to surviving, which was the best case scenario right now. Whatever was happening, Harry knew it wasn't good. However, Pettigrew wasn't even listening by now, hands shaking slightly over the cauldron. He wasn't about to... Harry swallowed bile as the man literally cut his hand off there and then, a bloodied stump clumsily bandaged by wand.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed."

Harry was no expert, but this was a ritual if ever he had seen one.

A nearby grave rumbled, then cracked and a fine dust rose from it, trailing through the air and sprinkling itself over the cauldron, which bubbled and smoked and turned a sickly grey colour.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly taken."

Heart hammering, Harry realised Pettigrew was advancing on him, clutching the knife in his hand and the smell of blood heavy on the air. The way his arms were pinned, he couldn't even try to dodge the blade as it pressed to his skin. Unsure if it was even possible, Harry imagined the protection and power Samael had given his blood being held back - if someone wanted his blood, they weren't taking the basilisk immunity too if he could help it.

The blood shone on the knife, the pain where he had been cut barely registering in his absolute, utter panic. Pettigrew tilted the blade over the cauldron, Harry's blood dripping slowly into the greyish liquid that began to glow scarlet.

"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken! The Dark Lord will rise again!"

The mixture began to roil, hissing and spitting and an ominous buzzing filled the air, like white noise closing in on Harry's senses. If Voldemort was about to rise again here, Harry was very, very screwed. His scar began to ache, slowly and subtly at first but as the scarlet liquid rose from the cauldron, coalescing into a humanoid shape, it felt like someone had taken a soldering iron to his forehead. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction, biting the inside of his cheek until the need to scream faded a little.

Pettigrew conjured a huge pile of black fabric, which wrapped itself like a funeral gown around the skeletal, ethereal white thing that had come from the cauldron. As the thing turned around, Harry's whole body tried to shrink inwardly on itself. This was his grandfather, the man who had fathered his mother, a beautiful woman with purity and goodness in her heart. It was irreconcilable.

"Harry Potter. The boy who lived, completely at the mercy of Lord Voldemort at last. I'm going to kill you, of course" a pale, bony hand wrapped around a long, thin wand handed to him by Pettigrew "but first, I think I should call a few old friends. Wormtail, your arm."

Pettigrew held out his bloodied stump, but Riddle - he wouldn't dignify him with his chosen 'lord' name - scoffed, shoved it aside roughly and paid the sniveling cries of pain no mind.

"The other arm."

Riddle yanked the mans uninjured arm harshly, ripping back the ragged fabric of his sleeve to expose the ugly tattoo etched on his arm. Riddle sighed happily, as though it were a work of art to be savoured, then pressed the very tip of his wand to it. Pettigrew screamed aloud, and Harry could see the mark darkening, moving and imagined it was like being re-branded based on his reaction.

All around the graveyard, pops and cracks sounded and multiple people appeared, each wearing a white mask over their faces, nothing but their hands exposed beneath the heavy black robes they wore.

"I confess myself disappointed. I had hoped more of you would return, but then I suppose I should be disappointed. Not one of you tried to find me."

"I-I-I did, my-my-lord."

Pettigrew was shivering, whether from fear or cold or blood loss, Harry wasn't sure. They seemed to mostly be ignoring him, and he wished more than anything he could get a hand free. His arm felt cold and sticky where blood was drying on his skin, and his whole body hurt.

"Out of fear Wormtail" Harry needed to find out why he was called that "not loyalty. However, you have proved... useful"

Riddle drawled, then waved his wand through the air and left a shimmering streak of liquid silver. The liquid solidifed, moving to form a hand that attached itself seamlessly onto Pettigrews arm.

"Thank you master! It... it's beautiful."

Riddle waved a hand dismissively, then seemed to look around expectantly and the robed, masked strangers moved quickly, kneeling and all taking turns to _kiss_ the hem of Riddles robes, then taking clearly learned places in a sort of circle. The fire light was starting to hurt his eyes, so Harry looked down... and his wand zoomed off. Naturally. Turning to where it had shot off to, there was nothing there but more darkness.

"I will punish you later. For now, my dear followers, I present to you my prisoner. Harry Potter."

Harry wondered if Riddle knew they were related, that he had murdered his own daughter. If he had chance to have a conversation, maybe he would tell him. Or not. He didn't want anyone to connect Lily Evans to the depraved killer smirking malevolently at Harry's trapped, bleeding form.

There were actual cheers, but then Harry was distracted by something else. He might be delirious, but he thought someone, maybe something, invisible was near him. He couldn't see anything, or even hear breathing or footsteps. Riddle continued waxing poetically about the things he planned to do to prove his power over Harry, but Harry was too busy jumping in surprise when fingers brushed against his wrist, gripping in a familiar gesture.

"Vlad?"

He almost didn't ask, because there were eyes on him and he didn't want to give away he may have backup. There was no answer verbally, but soft fingers traced along the string of his necklace, the one Vlad had given him. That was all the confirmation Harry needed to relax a little - he wasn't alone, Vlad had somehow found him in the middle of nowhere with 'Lord Voldemort' and co about to kill him. If nothing else, Harry mused, at least he wouldn't die alone.

The stone pinning his arms seemed to vibrate slightly, shifting all of a few millimetres but Harry thought he could reach his necklace now and nodded as subtly as he could, praying Vlad was looking and waiting for some sort of signal.

Whatever Vlad had been planning to do was cut short as Riddle raised his wand, pointing directly at Harry and his face twisted, looking even less human than before (if that were possible) and he all but screamed the curse.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The sickly green light shot towards Harry, but it never made purchase as the spell vanished inches in front of him. If anything, Riddle was more surprised than Harry as the spell didn't hit him. A wave of emotions washed through Harry as he realised Vlad must have taken the hit, throwing himself in front of Harry again and again. Growling as he looked at the man that had taken yet another person from Harry, a rush of anger filled him and the thing pressing him into place crumbled, broke as he pushed and dropped to the ground.

Thinking 'protego' as hard as he could, Harry fumbled in the wet grass for Vlad's hand, knowing there were seconds left before Riddle would try again. Now was not the time to fight, Harry wasn't ready. When he was, Riddle would pay. For Rose, for Lily, for James, for Vlad and then for everyone else he had hurt and killed and tortured for who and what they were, or because they were in his way or wouldn't follow him.

Finally making purchase with Vlad's cold, slender fingers, Harry hoped this would work as he wrapped both their hands around the snake charm on his necklace and whispered "Samael" feeling it pull them along, but only a few feet outside of the fire light before they hit the equivalent of an invisible brick wall. Clutching Vlad's invisible wrist and hearing a scream of "FIND HIM" behind them, he realised they must have hit a ward of some kind.

How did Vlad get through? Harry willed the magical vision he had been wishing would vanish constantly until now forward, and the air was suddenly alight with so much magic it hurt. There was a gap through which only night was visible, with the image of cracks in the magic around it where Vlad must have broken through to save Harry. Not even noticing the weight, Harry ran for it, still clutching Vlad's hand to the necklace as they fell through the gap.

"Samael!"

This time he knew it worked, the world around him spinning so fast he almost threw up, then the Chamber of Secrets was all around them as he landed on the cold, damp floor. Safe, at least for now, Harry felt hot tears of anger and grief well and spill over his cheeks, fumbling for the edge of the invisibility cloak and yanking until the heavy fabric fell away to reveal Vlad, laying deathly still and clutching Harry's and his own wand in the hand Harry hadn't wrapped around the portkey.

He rolled Vlad onto his back, and a raw sort of sob tore from his chest. When would people stop having to die for him? The idiotic vampire had saved Harry, yes, but he should never have jumped in front of the spell - Harry had previous in surviving, he might have lived.

Clutching at his hand, he felt his usually-slowed heartbeat pulse and throb in his ears, there was an ironic sense of dejavu as he leant over Vlad's body - just as Vlad had when Samael had bitten him. Except Harry had been fine, but Vlad wasn't moving.

"Why? Why did you do this?"

He was hardly going to answer, Harry chuckled humourlessly to himself. He must have been shaking harder than he realised, as he thought for a second Vlad's hand twitched in his. Wishful thinking in the midst of grief, that was it.

Then it happened again. One twitch, then another, then Vlad's fingers squeezed tight around his own. Reaching down to Vlad's wrist, Harry realised he could feel something, the steady tick of life in the 'untransformed' vampire.

"Vlad? Are you alive? Undead? I don't care, just say something!"

He was frantic, reaching for Vlad's chest to feel his heart beating steadily beneath, but Vlad's body recoiled, his face scrunching up in pain.

"Ow. Don't suppose you remember, being a baby" Vlad coughed, eyes flickering open for a second then closing again "but that _hurt._ "

Harry couldn't help it, he cried.

"You stupid, bat brained idiot. What were you doing taking that spell?"

Vlad dropped the wands in his not-claimed-by-Harry hand, slowly reaching for his t-shirt hem and pulling it up slowly. It was hard to see amongst the storm cloud of bruising at first, but the 'magic sight' hadn't yet faded, and there was a faint green glow. In the shape of a lightning bolt.

"I'm not human Harry, takes more than a curse to get rid of me."

-YDHP-

 **Almost decided to leave you guys hanging, but I would have felt a bit bad all week long then.**

 **Yes, I am aware Voldie is back third year instead of fourth, I'm not that drugged up!**


	18. Past Mistakes

**Jon! You're back! And as ever, your reviews had me in hysterics and generally feeling excellent. I have missed you and your wit so I'm very glad to hear you're back and not ill anymore!**

 **I can't decide if your Ingrid-esque reaction or new name for Harry is my favourite part though, I can** ** _absolutely_** **hear that in her voice. And with regards to the matching scars - the lightning bolt shape is the wand movement for AK, so it wouldn't make sense for Vlad to have a different scar from surviving the hit, if that makes sense?**

 **I started writing this update September 1st, mostly to distract myself from how sad I will always be that I'm not on the train to Hogwarts!**

-YDHP-

Harry stared openly at the mark on Vlad's chest - they had matching scars now? The thought reminded him of the pain trying to eek through his forehead, like Voldemort was chiseling away at the inside of his brain. His hand had barely reached for it before Vlad did, an audible hiss of pain for the movement but as ever, his cool fingers were like ice water on the pain.

"You're bleeding. Your arm, and your mouth."

He had taken healing for long enough that he thought he could at least disinfect and staunch the bleeding wound, but he didn't want to risk his mouth.

"Can you stand? Just so we can get out of here, because nobody else can get in."

Vlad nodded, pulling his t-shirt back down to hide the injuries that all but glowed, stark against his pale chest. He could see the effort it cost Vlad to roll onto his side, then his front to push himself up, tucking his wand in his sleeve and nodding down at the invisibility cloak.

"My backpack is in my pocket. Put your cloak in it, and find me a painkiller. Blue vial."

The words were pushed through gritted teeth, so Harry didn't hold Vlad's sudden lack of manners against him as he reached for the pocket - right side, because Vlad was right handed, he remembered - and pulled out the backpack, enlarging it to shove his cloak in and find the charmed-in side pocket full of little glass vials. Handing the blue one to Vlad, the relief was obvious as his friend swallowed it down.

"Side door. As soon as we show up on the map, someone will be coming to find us. And give me the scolding of my unlife for going after you."

Not even bothering to ask what had transpired between his defence class and Vlad's rescue mission, Harry shrunk his backpack back down and handed it to Vlad, picked his wand up and since he was the less injured, Harry put an arm around Vlad's back to hold him up. Vlad visibly shuddered, and Harry remembered the huge bruises across his chest.

"Sorry."

"It's ok, let's just move before Ingrid finds out and hexes me herself for going off alone."

Chuckling, Harry led him to the side door, hissing to open it and they stumbled through the door, which melted back into the wall the second they were through.

"Necklace."

Harry looked down, remembering the portkey was currently un-glamoured. Quickly changing it back to lion, Vlad pushed himself up against the wall and breathed heavily. Barely five seconds later, a rather irritated but relieved looking Bertrand was 'whooshing' into their corridor, taking stock of them - Harry was bleeding and Vlad could barely stay upright.

"Explain later. Take me to magic painkiller lady now."

Vlad managed to smirk cheekily at his tutor for a second before wincing in pain again, and Bertrand rolled his eyes but grabbed both their arms. It wasn't any more disorientating than a Gringotts cart, and _much_ faster than walking. Even if they spent way too much time in the hospital wing.

"You two. Again. Why am I not surprised?"

"Harry should be fine once you heal his arm and mouth. I just want pain relievers and sleep. Preferably before I get the telling off I know is coming."

Vlad clambered into his 'usual' bed, groaning in pain but keeping his eyes on Harry as Madam Pomfrey healed his injuries properly. Then glared him into a bed, her wand charming his blood-and-mud covered clothes into the hospital issue pyjamas. Watching Vlad, the boy visibly recoiled when anyone tried to check his injuries, and held up a shield charm (Harry had to admire his wandless and wordless magic at a time like this) when Madam Pomfrey tried to change his clothes.

"Mr Dracula, is there a reason you're warding off the nurse?"

Turning to the door, they were joined by Dumbledore, McGonogall, Severus and someone Harry got a jolt of sickening recognition towards.

"Is there a reason the man who got my parents killed is here, Headmaster Dumbledore?"

He hadn't realised the words had come out until he had six adults staring incredulously at him. Sirius Black was standing right there. Looking over at Vlad, his friend fixed him with a strange look, then shook his head.

"I wouldn't have known you were missing until it was too late if it wasn't for him. Though I was still very close to too late, so don't feel too good about it. That time you spent hanging around? Wormtail resurrected Voldemort."

Vlad spat the words, clutching at his chest and Harry was torn between punching Sirius Black and going to try and help Vlad.

"Could you repeat that? I think there was something crazy in my ear." Both teen boys snorted at Bertrand, earning them glares from the adults.

"Vlad's right. Pettigrew needed my blood for a ritual. We were seconds from death when we got away. Vlad. Show them?"

Everyone looked between Vlad and Harry for a moment, and Harry suddenly felt guilty when Vlad looked sad but acquiesced, lifting his shirt to display the marks.

"I know you can't heal a dark curse wound, so that's why I just want some pain relievers."

He yanked the fabric back down, and Madam Pomfrey huffed and made annoyed sounds but handed Vlad a black vial, which he made look like the worst tasting liquid gold as the potion spread through him, making the vampire all but melt into his bed.

"I'm sorry, the Dark Lord is back? And Vladimir survived a killing curse? Someone please tell me I've sustained a serious head injury, and I'll wake up without Black near me and all of this will be an unpleasant hallucination."

"I wish Professor. This is painful."

Dumbledore and McGonogall both vanished off - thankfully with Black in tow which relaxed every other person, though Harry didn't miss the look of _longing_ Black sent him. Feeling a little unsettled, the minute Madam Pomfrey turned her back Harry slid from his bed, dropping into the chair next to Vlad's. Severus and Bertrand knew considerably more about them both than most, but until the nurse vanished they didn't have much they could say.

"The drugs kicking in yet bat boy?"

His friend made a sound Harry thought was agreement, cracking one eye open to peer at Harry. They were going to have to talk about Vlad's insane decision to take the curse, and how on earth he found him. And the whole return of the crazed killer that wanted Harry dead, whilst simultaneously being his grandfather. And Harry needed something for his headache before he started biting his cheek again.

Something in his face must have given him away, because even in his drugged-up state Vlad noticed and touched his scar again. If Bertrand - the closest they had to an expert on magical vampires he supposed - had any ideas about why that worked, he wasn't sharing them. Frankly, Harry had stopped caring so long as it worked.

Madam Pomfrey had spotted them by then, and as soon as Vlad was done touching Harry she shooed him back to his bed, both having dreamless sleep pushed at them. They shared a look, and Vlad lifted the vial like he was toasting Harry with a wry smile before they both swallowed the purple liquid.

Even asleep, the dull ache continued in his head and Harry was looking for Madam Pomfrey as his eyes opened. His glasses had been removed - he could still see but the frames were on his bedside. Pulling the glamoured glass back on quickly, he sat up. Vlad was already awake - still in last nights dirty clothes and fending off the nurse - and pointed Madam Pomfrey at Harry a second later.

"Mr Potter. How are you feeling? Hopefully less obtuse than your friend here."

"Ok. Can I have something for my headache please?"

Never more thankful for magical remedies that were much faster than muggle paracetamol, he felt some of the pain recede. Potions would never clear the entirety of it, because it wasn't normal pain, but it was a start.

"Why won't you let the nurse near you? You're rarely a difficult patient."

"Because every single cell in my body hurts, and every time someone comes at me with a wand I tense up. Which, unsurprisingly, hurts."

Vlad explained to Bertrand, who didn't look to have slept though Professor Snape was nowhere to be seen, and then reached for the next dose of pain relievers.

"Can you at least allow someone to look? We have to see if you're healing at all, you won't be able to take the pain potions indefinitely."

Harry watched and felt bad for his friend as Vlad grimaced, then managed to lift his hand and vanish his dirty clothes from his top half, appearing neatly folded next to his bed. The bruises looked worse in the stark light of day and hospital wing, covering the entirety of Vlad's narrow chest and the lightning bolt looking deeply etched into his skin. He still recoiled when anyone got too close, but apparently the adults thought there were signs of healing.

"Doesn't feel it. Anyone suggests rubbing a bruise salve on me and I'll hex you. I need a shower."

"Vladimir, you can barely stand up! I insist-"

"Fine, I'll take a bath. Just let me clean the smell of dark magic and graveyard off me."

Madam Pomfrey threw her hands in the air, sighing and bustling over to check on Harry. He decided to just let her work, because he was less injured and more likely to get her head of steam unleashed. Aside from the scar-pain/headache, he was essentially unharmed now his arm and mouth were healed.

He took a quick shower, looking at the faint circular scar left by Samael and hoping against hope Voldemort hadn't gotten that too. Harry had claimed the basilisk, in his heart at least. And they had those... horcrux things to find. If Samael was lost to them? They were screwed.

Feeling infinitely better for being washed and in clean clothes, he went back out and sat back on his bed. Harry wasn't sure what to do. Voldemort was back. And killing Harry was definitely number one on his to do list, especially when he had been seen to dodge the curse in front of those followers of his, then vanished seconds later. The dementor guards hadn't stopped Pettigrew, or Black. He highly doubted they were going to slow down Voldemort.

Vlad took longer to appear, ambling from the bathroom in hospital-issue pyjama bottoms and nothing else. He fell back onto his own bed, eyes seeking out Harry almost instantly.

"Are you alright?"

Vlad was bruised, probably permanently scarred and lucky to be alive - and he was asking if _Harry_ was alright? He didn't understand the vampire boy.

"Fine. Bit of a headache, but I've had worse. And I'm alive. That's all thanks to you Vlad. You could have died out there. You could have a massive target on you now. What were you thinking?"

He looked shocked by the tangent, but Vlad just shrugged and shifted into a more comfortable - or perhaps less painful - position on his bed.

"You were in trouble. I knew I could die, but that's been par for the course every school year. Not usually so early, but we got out. We're both alive, and according to the grown ups glaring at me from over there, I'm going to heal up fine. We have bigger issues than me with a few bruises."

Rolling his eyes, Harry noticed breakfast arriving. Vlad looked like he was going to argue, but a glare from Harry convinced him to sit up and work through some scrambled eggs. Setting in on his own food, suddenly ravenous, he swallowed down a mouthful of bacon and spent the quiet time mentally thanking the school elves for their amazing cooking. It was a surreal moment in it's normality.

Vlad had charmed a jumper back on as soon as he finished eating, hiding the injuries he sustained before Dumbledore, McGonogall and Black returned, Remus in tow.

"Harry! I'm relieved to see you're alright.".

Eyeing Remus stood next to Black, Harry felt like backing away. Not that he could, the only thing behind him was a bedboard and a wall.

"Why is he anywhere near me? I've had to tolerate those vile things since the school train, precisely to keep Sirius Black **away** from me!"

The adults all shared a look, and Harry noticed Vlad had his wand next to his hand, lying on the bed and eyes on Black.

"We may have made... errors in judgement."

"I'm happy to explain, though perhaps not here."

Harry shook his head, gesturing to the vampires.

"Anything you have to say to me, can be said in front of Vlad. And Bertrand would eat you himself before he left Vlad and I alone with a serial killer."

Remus knew what Bertrand was, and Harry suspected Black knew by now - he may have seen Bertrand speeding off or been on the receiving end of his fanged glares. And the man did not look happy at the prospect, but Harry was quick to move over to Vlad's bed and sit next to it. Vlad smiled at him, then returned to glaring at Black.

"Fine. But not here, I should probably not be spotted anytime soon."

Wondering just how much time they spent in the office/side rooms of the Hospital Wing, Harry held out a hand for Vlad to balance himself on as he got up gingerly, feeling the same odd warmth he often got from Vlad. Or perhaps it was his skin recognising vampires - he didn't touch Ingrid or Bertrand often enough to know.

"Master Vlad! Master Harry! What can Jumpsy do for you?"

The two teens grinned at each other, then ducked their heads - they knew they weren't supposed to know where the kitchens were.

"Just tea for me please."

"Me too."

The two non-vampire adults asked for coffee, and Bertrand didn't have to say anything - a goblet of what Harry could smell was blood rested on the tray when their tea appeared.

"Don't worry, it's donated."

Both Black and Remus still looked exceptionally uncomfortable, so Harry drew their attention back to the matter at hand. Aside from Voldemort that was. Vlad sipped his tea next to Harry, silent and protective as usual.

"You said you would explain. I have a madman after me now, again, so I kind of have other things to be worrying about. So, explain."

Vlad's fingers slid around his wrist, squeezing reassuringly until he calmed down.

"It's like seeing you and James all over again."

Harry looked back up at Black and Remus, then over at Vlad.

"Huh?"

Remus reached into his cardigan, pulling out a somewhat crumpled, clearly old photograph and slid it across the table. It contained two boys, about thirteen he supposed, captured in the same ten second loop of laughter at something out of camera shot. Tears built at the back of his eyes, even though Harry hadn't seen a picture of him this young, he knew he was looking at his father. The boy next to him had black hair, neater than James' and blue eyes that sparkled with life and mirth even through the photo.

Vlad was a little less overwhelmed, but he could clearly see Harry was struck by emotions right now.

"What was it you two were laughing at?"

"I think it must have been the Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, we had _accidentally_ set off some hilarious spells and he wasn't happy with the mermaid tail."

"Or the hands that stuck to everything."

"Or maybe it was the bright blue bubbles that came out of his mouth when he tried to speak. My personal favourite."

He couldn't help laughing a little, imagining his dad running amok at Hogwarts and causing such chaos - just like Vlad and Harry did now. The boy in the picture did look like Vlad, and with Harry's resemblance to his father, he could see what Remus meant.

"This doesn't change that he handed my mom and dad to Voldemort."

They flinched a little at the name, but he ignored it, sipping his rapidly cooling tea for something to do, to focus on other than wanting to hex Black.

"I would never have done that. I would have died first, James saved me. My life, my soul, everything. It was Peter."

Harry wanted to hear more about his father, but he was more desperate to know what had happened that night his whole life was torn apart.

"Pettigrew? How? You were their secret keeper right? Only you could have told on them."

"I thought so too" Remus interjected, looking a little wounded as he spoke "but I was wrong."

"My family were dark. My little brother joined you-know-who. When I started at Hogwarts and got sorted into Gryffindor, it did not go well for me at home. James and Remus here befriended me almost instantly, and Peter was the only other Gryffindor in our year. We were the best of friends" Black stopped to wipe a tear away, and Harry almost felt bad, but he needed more information "but that isn't what you wanted to know. Yes, I was their secret keeper, but I was sure I was being followed, that they were after me. We didn't know Peter had been turned over to the dark side then, and figured nobody would suspect little old Peter. He was always shy, quiet and not that powerful. We only knew it was too late when they were dead - Peter had turned them in. That's why I went after him that night. He knew nobody but I knew they changed secret keeper. All he had to do was run. And he did. I was laughing when they found me, because for the first time ever, Peter had gotten one over on me."

Harry's first instinct was to turn to Vlad, to check he had heard all the same things. Vlad chewed on the words for a moment, downed the rest of his tea and rubbed at his chest.

"He cut off his finger, blew up the street, transformed into a rat and left you there to take the fall out. That's the measure of it, right?"

Black nodded, clutching at his coffee mug and looking more haggard than ever. Bertrand was quiet in the corner, observing over the rim of his goblet like it was a mildly dull television show.

"So, you were locked up for a crime you didn't commit. You get out of Azkaban... somehow, and you can go anywhere, hide somewhere and live. Instead, you come all the way to Scotland, sneak past the dementors _again,_ and it's not to kill Harry? So, what is it all for?"

"Peter. I knew wherever Harry was, he would be. So if you-know-who ever came back, he would be able to hand Harry over like a prize to lessen his chances of being killed off. Sorry for the painting, I liked that portrait. Is she alright?"

"Traumatised. Maybe don't cut up guardian portraits who literally cannot open without the password?"

Black shrugged, and Bertrand summoned Jumpsy for more tea in the silence, maybe to distract from the obvious discomfort at the adult vampires presence.

"Vlad!"

Ingrid's voice sounded, irate - likely at Vlad getting himself hurt again - as it rang through the hospital wing. Vlad rolled his eyes but smiled fondly, flicking eyes to Bertrand, then Harry. The message was clear - don't leave Harry alone with Black. He grumbled as he stood and left, and Harry took about three seconds to follow him, watching Ingrid smack her brother around the head. Hermione was there too, throwing herself at Harry in a flurry of hugs and crazy hair.

"You two were missing all night! Fred and George were a mess this morning but wouldn't say anything, and then McGonogall called me out of Arithmancy and now you two are here! What happened? Is that Sirius Black?"

Hermione finally stopped for breath, looking tempted to hug Vlad but he held his hands up in defence, mumbling he was still healing under his older sisters glare. He looked sufficiently drained by the minimal effort, dropping heavily onto the bed again and talking quietly to Ingrid.

"Yes, that's Sirius Black. No, he's not here to kill me. I think. Yes, we were here most of the night, and Fred and George were probably told not to say anything. McGonogall probably knew you were going out of your mind, and so she brought you here to see we were fine. Now calm down."

Hermione drew a deep breath, then sat on the chair next to Harry's bed and looked over at Vlad in concern.

"What happened?"

"A lot. Vlad will be fine, he just took a nasty curse and it'll take time to heal up. But I swear, both here, alive and safe."

Hermione smiled, nodded and then whacked him with the closest thing to hand - a pillow.

"Disappearing on us like that! How could you?"

"If it helps, wasn't by choice. I was knocked out and kidnapped, Vlad was the rescue man."

Something in her face gave Harry pause, he couldn't figure out why but felt like there was something he didn't know. Before he could think further, Hermione put a hand in her pocket, lifting it out a minute later to show a scaly body.

"Lily!"

Forgetting not everyone in the room knew he was a parselmouth with a snake familiar, Harry hissed happily to the snake, who gave him a similar remonstration as Hermione. Apologising for worrying her, he got the usual affectionate tongue flick against his cheek.

"Harry?"

Remus and Black were both looking very concerned, perhaps even more so because nobody else seemed perturbed in the slightest.

"Oh, right. Yeah, hi. I'm a parselmouth, this is Lily, my familiar. Totally harmless, except being a pain in the scales. Right Lily?"

"You are not as amusing as you think wizard." Harry chuckled, stroking over her cool, scaled head. "I'm hilarious and you know it."

She coiled up around his neck, apparently quite comfortable keeping an eye on the teacher and escaped convict still staring at them in confusion. And perhaps a little fear?

"You're a... what? How?"

Vlad shook his head, just a little, reminding Harry to keep some things a secret.

"I don't know. Lily picked me, I had no clue before that."

He was lying, sort of. He hadn't known before, not really, but he did know how and why he was able to do it now. Thanks to the skeletal, evil, twisted _creature_ that had been resurrected in a graveyard last night.

-YDHP-

 **I'm not happy with how this chapter turned out, but I tried to rewrite it and it just got worse!**


	19. Rejected Reality

**Jon - I did briefly mention at the end of that chapter - the AK didn't work fully because Vlad isn't human. I had that chosen back when** ** _Chosen One Shots_** **was just** _ **Chosen.**_ **I figured since they are scared of pointy wood and garlic bread, I could give them a pass on the AK killing them? As for Harry making Vlad strip off to show the scar, the events in the graveyard won't be widely known, because nobody wants the vamps surviving AKs getting out - or Vlad being a vampire. That would be a spoiler, but that'll be covered in this chapter anyway. And finally, I can survive all the missing line breaks in the world for your wonderful reviews!**

 **VampireHarry the 2 - thank you! And welcome to my big gay story!**

 **Apologies if this update is a day late, but I've written like... 20,000 words of fanfiction in the last four days and my brain is fried, so I might have mixed up my days.**

-YDHP-

His chest ached constantly, but Vlad only had to remember it was in place of Harry being killed by the curse to cope with the pain. That didn't stop him enjoying the pain relief potions, or being happy the bruises stopped throbbing in time with his pulse though.

"How you doing?"

His mate, beautifully unharmed from their near-death experience in the graveyard, dropped into the chair next to Vlad's hospital bed.

"I'll live. It hurts less than it did this morning. I'm hoping to be ditching this place tomorrow, I hate the hospital wing. Is everyone else ok? Wormtail had months, hell, he had years to gather intel on you, which means Riddle has probably worked out it was me in the graveyard with you. Did you find any books on Little Hangleton?"

Harry blinked as he absorbed Vlad's rapid cycling of questions, not wearing his glasses when it was just the two of them in the back room - there were a couple of sick second years in the main wing, so Vlad and his dark curse injury were hidden away.

"Yeah, we checked everyone is ok. Fred and George are keeping an eye on the map, the Minister for Magic is coming over tomorrow, and Bertrand and Severus are working on how to protect everyone at Christmas. Anyone Wormtail thinks we might be friends with at least, particularly muggle borns since their parents won't be able to put up wards on their homes. And yes, but nothing in there about the Riddle family except that they were nobles or something, and totally normal humans. I'll have to search for more recent stuff to find the connection."

Nodding, Vlad pushed himself to sit up properly. It hurt, but his back got stiff staying still too long - it was one of the reasons he dreaded future coffin sleeping. Harry stole some of his leftover pudding from dinner, grinning with chocolate icing smeared at the side of his mouth and Vlad had to look away to resist the temptation to _lick_ the wizard.

"Can you get Draco for me? I need to ask him something, but Madam Pomfrey will lynch me if I try to leave."

Harry nodded, stealing more of his food and heading off, passing Bertrand at the door. Once it was closed behind him, Vlad knew the drill and magicked off his shirt. Bertrand's superior senses meant he could tell how well the bruises were healing with just a look, and apparently considering the depth of them he was on the road to recovery.

"How are you feeling, pain aside?"

"Harry's alive, the pain was worth it. However, I don't know how _I'm_ alive. I told Harry it was because I'm not human, and he believed me, but I think I was more surprised than him I survived it."

Bertrand shook his head, keeping an eye on the door in case Draco or some nosy student appeared.

"It's true, Avada Kedavra curses do not kill a vampire. They would fail to kill a born werewolf too, though not a bitten, because they weren't born to be immortal the way our kind are. As you can see, your body still sustained damage, but no, a killing curse would not actually kill you. That's not a widely known secret, but as neither is your vampirism, keep your clothes on and the secret should stay as such."

The door knocked a minute or so later, making Vlad jump and hurry to pull his t-shirt back on, groaning in pain as he did so.

"Oh, hi Bertrand. Harry said you wanted me, he said he was going to stay and keep Hermione company so she didn't come and yell at you again."

The tutor nodded in greeting, then left Vlad to talk to his friend.

"What's up?"

"How much have you heard?"

Vlad wasn't really supposed to divulge this information, he knew, but based on who his parents were, it was probably very relevant to him and Vlad felt he deserved to know. Plus he needed something from the blond.

"Not much, everything's all hush hush and Harry said he couldn't say until tomorrow, but everyone knows something is off, since the dementor guards have been doubled."

Oh, Harry would _love_ that. Still, he had been learning to fight them before, so Vlad hoped the foul things wouldn't be able to hurt his mate again. Realizing Draco was waiting for a reply, he focused back on the topic at hand and not on Harry. Mostly.

"Take a seat, this will be a surprise I guess."

Draco sat, and Vlad sort of wished he had a camera to memorialize the jaw-dropped gape of the usually composed Malfoy junior when he uttered the words "Voldemort is back".

"There's a lot I can't tell you, but you're the first to hear this after me and Harry got back from the whole soirée. Obviously you have to keep it quiet, Dumbledore is handling how the info comes to the public at large."

"Of course. What did you need from me that necessitated telling me before everyone else?"

"Wormtail has been around Hogwarts a while, he knows who Harry is friends with, and probably who's muggle born and most vulnerable. I wanted to ask how you felt about giving a few of them emergency portkeys to Malfoy Manor. Since that's the safest place outside of Hogwarts and Gringotts."

Draco agreed immediately - so long as Vlad gave him veto power over a list before anyone actually _got_ magical ward-passing entry to his home. The list was small really - the first year Gryffindor muggle borns, the lion-snake twins, the Weasley twins and Ginny - their siblings and parents could all apparate nearby already, and the boys in their dorm plus Hermione.

"Thanks Draco. I would just hate to put people at risk because they were friends with us. I can't work on them until I get out of here anyway, and I'm going to see if there's a way to programme it to DNA or magical signature similarity, so nobody can steal them to get at you, or Harry. You are still ok with Harry living there right?"

"I probably wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you two, of course I'm happy to help out. It's hardly fair I'm the safest just because you and Severus warded my home, and I already told Harry - he's like the brother I never had."

Cocking his head, Vlad thought back to summer at Malfoy Manor.

"When did you say that to him?"

"Remember when we were flying, and you and Ingrid were looking at us like we were idiots even though you can both fly pretty well? It was then. Why?"

Vlad distinctly remembered that instance, when he had seen flushed cheeks and mid-air hugging and it had made the mate bond inside him thrum with jealousy. He felt much soothed now, finding it much easier to accept Harry wouldn't see him that way because he was straight - the prospect of Harry liking boys and not Vlad made his chest ache far worse than even the curse had.

"Harry never mentioned, but I think that was one of the nights he had a nightmare so he probably didn't get a chance to tell me. Doesn't matter."

Draco took his owl order form for a jewellery store in Recreation Alley - they were known for making pieces that could be charmed with protection magic, so Vlad hoped they would work for portkeys too and necklaces were fairly innocuous, so they wouldn't seem too suspicious. Thanking his friend again, Bertrand checked in on Vlad as Madam Pomfrey came by with his evening potions, but Vlad didn't take them immediately. He knew they would knock him out, and it wasn't curfew yet, so he was pathetically yearning for a visit from Harry.

When it got to an hour past their curfew, Vlad told himself to get a grip and downed his potions, blissful dreamless, painless sleep taking him away. When he woke, expecting his tutor to be patiently awaiting him waking up to check his healing, Vlad instead found Harry eating bacon and reading a book in the chair next to his bed.

"Morning sun... No, morning moonshine. You'll never be sunshine, too vampire and all."

"Morning. Shouldn't you be in class? What time is it?"

"Half nine, late for you but that'll be the potions. And no, Dumbledore told me I was to stay here with you in case anyone unsavoury - that was his word, not mine - came in ahead of the Minister today, to stop us talking about Riddle returning. So I have yesterdays class and homework for you, courtesy of Hermione, and we are not allowed to leave the Hospital Wing unless it suddenly becomes full of dragons or dark wizards. That was McGonogall who said that."

Sleep haze lifting, Vlad chuckled and reached for his morning painkiller resting on the bedside table.

"Guessing they don't know you could probably talk the dragon in to setting fire to dark wizards, with your snake tongue and all."

Harry offered to leave when Vlad had to get his bruises looked at, but Vlad couldn't help enjoying Harry's eyes fixed on him, regardless of the reason right now.

"They are starting to change colour, you'll find them going multiple shades of yellow and brown, but that's supposed to happen. How's the pain?"

"Beautifully medicated away, might even risk having a shower today."

Bertrand shook his head as he left Vlad to eat his breakfast, surreptitiously watching Harry out of the corner of his eye and feeling content in his mates presence. They worked on their Transfiguration essay until lunch, chatting quietly and ignoring the nerve-wracking idea of what was happening later that day.

Draco dropped in to talk to Vlad during lunch, clearly under orders from Hermione to check on his health and homework. He also had a book on connecting spells to people, brought in by Dobby from Malfoy Manor.

"If you need a book from the library, call Dobby when you're alone. He's the one who's catalogued the new additions, he knows it better than anyone. Except maybe Bertrand."

They shared an amused look, and Vlad quashed down some guilty feeling. The vampire was dating Draco's guardian/father figure, and it was clear he saw the vampire in a good light. He didn't hold out hope that everyone would come out of the mate issue unscathed, and he hated that. He hated even more that Ingrid or Severus and Draco getting hurt wasn't the top concern in his life - the lunatic after his mate took priority right now.

"Why Jacob and Jason? Their mothers a witch isn't she?"

Vlad shrugged, working on the list of people who would get emergency portkeys while Harry was out flying - with Bertrand watching him, just in case - that afternoon.

"Put it this way - if George was my sister, I would be taking bets that at least one of those two would be my future brother in law."

* * *

"Do these people know I'm a biter? Because the most obvious way to display the truth is the great big lightning bolt on my chest, but since mines a full hit and not a rebound, they'll want to know why I'm breathing."

"No, and we are trying to keep you quiet. I expect resistance, but the Minister must be informed."

Vlad nodded at the headmaster, grimacing constantly as he rubbed a bruise salve into his chest now he could bear the pressure for a few seconds at a time. The injury was still slow to heal, but Madam Pomfrey knew Vlad was itching to get back to class. Personally, after everything they had gone through with Riddle, Harry wouldn't have minded some time off class but he needed to learn, to train if he was ever to defeat his psychotic grandfather.

Every minute counted now, though he tried not to stress out Vlad while he was recovering from saving Harry's life. Because Harry knew, on some instinctive best friend level, that if he said that to Vlad, his friend would push through the pain and find some way for Harry to start training with his newfound wordless magic, or ways to destory horcruxes that wouldn't involve waking Samael yet until they were absolutely certain Riddle couldn't take control of the basilisk back.

"Ugh, this stuff is so greasy. And it's not even working! Instant healing my -"

"Mr Dracula." The vampire flushed, making Harry muffle a laugh in his hand as their head of house glared at them. "You were hit by a usually lethal curse, and you are healing, just slowly. Kindly refrain from dramatics I usually associate with your dorm mate Mr Finnegan."

Vlad buttoned up his shirt again, having gotten used to being topless in front of the teachers when they had all wanted to look at the second-ever survivor of Avada Kedavra. Ironically, he wouldn't be able to go shirtless around anyone else afterwards, because it was highly likely he would have a scar down the length of his chest in the same shape as Harry's.

"Not like I got changed in the dorms before. No difference except I'm secretly the bat-who-lived to your boy-who-lived."

Harry chuckled, downing the last of his drink now they were ready to leave for the headmasters office. He caught Madam Pomfrey slipping Vlad an extra painkiller vial in case the 'meeting' went on too long, knowing the nurse had an undeniable soft spot for both him and Vlad, and by association Hermione, Ingrid and the Weasleys.

"So, no mention of vampires, surviving curses... what about how we escaped? Neither of us can apparate."

"We used the portkey Wormtail used to get us both there. It's not like he's going to be around to dispute us, and I'm on too many potions to take veritaserum. Lucky for me Madam Pomfrey is under patient-healer privilege to not reveal anything about _why_ I'm on any potions."

The adults all looked at Vlad in surprise, but Harry was used to the vampire having a speedy lie for almost everything. Vlad smiled over at Harry, looking remarkably someone who almost died and was now about to lie to the Minister for Magic. Then Harry remembered he had tripped the same Minister up the year before protecting Draco. Vampires may have some issues with authority, he mused to himself as they sat waiting for the visitors, sipping at an outrageously floral tea set (Bertrand looked especially hilarious with a purple and green monstrosity) to pass the time.

Bertrand and Vlad both looked over towards the door, a full three minutes (he counted, nervous as could be) before Harry heard the sound of the staircase grounding its way up and bringing the (supposedly) most powerful man in magical Britain. Dumbledore stood as the door opened, revealing Minister Fudge and four Aurors - judging by their dark red robes anyway.

"Albus, what is the meaning of this?"

"Ah, Cornelius, you know I would not have summoned you unless it were urgent. Please, sit. Tea?"

The headmaster was far too casual, as though they weren't about to reveal the return of the most evil wizard ever.

"No, thank you."

When Dumbledore went to conjure the Minister a chair, the most grumpy looking author stopped him and pulled out his own wand, creating a severe, steely gray office chair for each auror and a luxurious black armchair for his boss.

If he didn't know better (and he did, Vlad wouldn't be able to do telepathy until he transformed) he would say Vlad and Bertrand were having a silent conversation about which auror they trusted the least, one of the four glaring at Bertrand. Actually, he looked sort of familiar... Harry thought it might be one of the ones who had come to arrest Lucius Malfoy. The one Bertrand had terrified with his fangs. Hiding his face in his cup, knowing if he met Vlad's eye they would break down into giggles, Harry waited.

"So, what is this terrible and urgent business you called me for? You never owl me with good news, have you noticed?"

"You're a busy man Cornelius, I thought you would grow annoyed if I wrote every time we got a new unicorn birth, or the elves outdid themselves on a fantastic chocolate pudding. To business then Minister. Lord Voldemort has returned."

If there was a sound that Harry wished he could have recorded, it would have been the shocked, sputtering, wheezing and choking sound that escaped the Minister, like a firework display surrounded by balloons loosing their helium.

"I beg your pardon? This had better be a joke, though it isn't a funny one."

"I am gravely serious Cornelius. Peter Pettigrew kidnapped these two young boys, performed a ritual to resurrect his master and succeeded. These two were lucky to escape with their lives."

"Pettigrew? Pettigrew is dead!"

Vlad snorted into his cup, drawing a glare from the Aurors as he placed it back on his saucer.

"He looked plenty alive trying to kill me. Missing a finger, third on his... right hand. He hid in the school as a rat animagus for years, took his chance and portkeyed us from the shrieking shack."

"He took my blood" Harry held up his arm, indicating the faint pink line on his skin but covering the scar from Samael just above it "for some weirdo ritual, then summoned a bunch of guys with the mark on Pettigrews arm. They spent a bunch of time crawling on their knees for him, and Vlad grabbed the portkey and me, and somehow we got out."

The minister spluttered, looking between Vlad and Harry and clearly unsure how to demand they retract what he was not accepting. Especially Harry - he didn't want to be seen berating the boy-who-lived, after placing the dementors at the school to _protect_ him only mere months ago.

"I don't... it's not possible."

"Oh, it's very possible Cornelius. It's more than that, it's the truth. Severus, would you mind?"

Harry watched as Severus stood, grinding his teeth in irritation as he lifted his sleeve to reveal the tattoo etched there. From what Vlad had said, the mark had darkened and moved when Riddle had activated it, faded massively before the 'return'.

"I'm aware you... defected, but as the only one with his mark here, you must be aware we cannot take your word on its changes."

Vlad was eyeing the auror at the back, loitering and watching silently.

"No, he's not."

"Excuse me?"

Vlad pushed himself out of his seat, face only slightly belying the effort it must cost him as he pulled his wand and aimed it at the auror.

"Apologies Minister, would you mind requesting the one with the charming smile lift his sleeves?"

The auror backed up, tripping over his chair and glaring hotly at Vlad.

"How dare you? First you make up nonsense to pull the Minister away from his important work, then accuse _me?_ Insolent brat."

Vlad rolled his eyes, showing his lack of respect for authority as the Minister watched in shock - Vlad petrified the auror, who clearly wasn't expecting it as he offered no defense.

"Doesn't say much for auror training. Point that somewhere else, would you?"

Knowing his friend would do the same, Harry walked over to the auror with Vlad, placing his body between Vlad and the other aurors wands in the (perhaps) vain hope they wouldn't attack him. They both yanked up the sleeves, difficult with the mans arms glued magically to his sides but they eventually managed it. There, beneath Harry's hand, the mark was there, black and angry looking and identical to Severus'.

"I recognised his voice when he was muttering to the others, he was in the graveyard. Surprised he came at all, but then maybe he expected you not to believe him."

Harry grinned at Vlad, hoping to convey how _awesome_ it was being friends with a genius vampire. He kept grinning as he turned back to the other aurors, who all lifted their sleeves automatically - clean, bare skin all around.

"Well, don't just stand there. Arrest him or something?"

Even with that, the Minister left denying everything they had said, complaining about madness and betrayal under his breath. Once they were alone again, Harry looked over at Vlad.

"You didn't hear him in the graveyard, nobody but Wormtail and Mr Evil himself really spoke. So how did you know?"

"I had to use the 'feeling' to find you, the dark mark gives off a particular... feeling. I never had anything to compare it to before, but after that and the graveyard, something about him set my teeth on edge, and he looked kind of annoyed when Professor Snape showed his. I'm guessing secrecy was important? Odd considering where he put the mark."

Vlad dropped heavily back into his seat, fumbling for his pain potion while Harry poured himself more tea, feeling calm as the adults stared at them incredulously.

"I thought your father and his friends were going to drive me mad, but you two alone are as much trouble as all four of them."

They both grinned cheekily, unashamed of themselves - they were good separately, but _brilliant_ together. He was lucky to have such a great best friend. The adults mumbled amongst themselves for a couple of minutes, then they were dismissed.

"Mr Potter, escort your friend back to the Hospital Wing."

Harry nodded at the serious tone, swallowing the still-too-hot tea quickly and standing to wait for Vlad. Harry kept his wand out, but Vlad didn't need his - he only used it to ensure his 'abilities' were kept quiet in front of the Minister.

"So, now what?"

"No clue. I'm banking on Dumbledore making some kind of announcement, but there will be backlash. We need to warn the younger kids not to go around alone, _again,_ and keep an eye on the older students, particularly the pure bloods."

The halls were empty, the 'meeting' timed for during dinner. The missing teachers would have drawn attention, but it meant nobody properly knew the Minister was coming to the school.

"I guess. Lets get you back to the Hospital Wing, and the magic pain killer lady."

Vlad offered him a short, soft smile, then grimaced again and nodded.

"Thank you Harry. For trusting my judgement back there, and just for being my friend."

Harry deposited Vlad back on his bed, then shook his head fondly.

"You saved my life, took that curse after managing to find me in the middle of bloody nowhere. I'll trust you to the ends of the earth. Idiot."

-YDHP-

 **Aww, my boys are so cute. And so dense.**


	20. Tensions Rising

**Jon - you must have known! Psychic fans... I feel special. I know everyone probably feels bad that Harry is clueless, but I promise I have the plan for that completely set down. They are still only little bats remember! Not that your idea isn't adorable but I think it would be torture for poor Vlad (not that I'm any better to him, obviously teehee).**

 **I'm much better at reading fanfiction than I am writing it! I still get surprised anyone reads my stuff, but I love writing even if I suck at it so I shall continue to toss this nonsensical babbling disguised as stories into the internet! I look forward to your next review, complete with Hermione stomping and corniness galore haha.**

 **VampireHarry the 2 - thank you! I shall endeavour to** **continue this 'good work' you speak of, personally I think my stuff is 99% nonsense.**

-YDHP-

Christmas was approaching, bringing with it Harry managing several minutes at a time where his eyes looked 'normal' to everyone, though he couldn't maintain it yet. But Voldemort was back, and Hogwarts was at a loss. The headmaster had made an announcement three days after they crash landed in the Chamber of Secrets, fresh from escaping Riddle and his band of madmen. Vlad stared in the mirror, his dorm mates sleeping, and traced the scar on his chest. It stretched mostly down the left side of his torso, essentially encompassing his heart and he actually _loved_ that - he had Harry's scar over his heart, it was perfect in a morbid sort of way.

It wasn't a Riddle-reciever the way Harry's was, but it did twinge at times and he got periodic surges of agonising chest pain, mostly when he overworked his magic but sometimes for no reason. Madam Pomfrey had given him a couple of stronger painkillers than he could brew, and a list to Professor Snape of what, when and how many Vlad could take over the holidays, because there was no question they were going to Malfoy Manor for the holidays.

Buttoning his pyjama shirt back up, he sighed and went back to bed, about to draw his curtains around to read by wand-light since he couldn't sleep. His chest tugged, the way it only did for Harry, and he waited for the pained sounds of Harry's nightmares. Sure enough, a minute or two later he heard a shuddering sigh, a brief sobbing breath and Harry sat bolt upright, eyes flashing in Vlad's bedside candlelight.

"What... what are you doing awake?"

Harry hissed the words quietly, wiping sweat from his clammy pale face.

"My uh, chest was hurting."

Harry realised they were talking openly about a secret, slipping from his bed to sit on Vlad's, the usual drawn curtains and silence spells done in seconds.

"Let me see?"

Something about his mate telling Vlad to take his clothes off was impossible to ignore, both their wands lit to fill the space as Vlad unbuttoned his shirt, hoping Harry wasn't noticing his slightly shaky fingers.

"What was it tonight? Sorrow?"

"No. My mother."

Since the graveyard incident, Harry had frequent nightmares now - he took dreamless sleep sometimes but couldn't take it indefinitely. The worst was a chilling, vivid night terror of his mothers murder, knowing the colour of the spell, the face of his mother and now the face of his grandfather - _her father._ He always let Harry start those conversations, because sometimes he wanted to talk and others he would threaten to hex Vlad for asking. It sounded horrific, so he didn't push his mate.

"Yours is bigger than mine."

They both busted up in childish laughter for a moment, all the pain and stress melting from Harry's face for a beautiful, brief few seconds over the double entendre.

"Yours would have been up close and personal, concentrated. I was what? Eight or nine feet away at least."

Harry nodded, perhaps emboldened by Vlad constantly touching his forehead scar, his lightly tanned fingers stood out starkly against Vlad's pale chest as they traced the scar gently. Swallowing thickly, Vlad fought away the dreams he had where Harry would continue and things would get hot between them, but Harry took the sign as negative and backed away, leaving him bereft of his mates touch.

"You finish the portkeys?"

"Yeah, just need to put some unbreakable charms on the chains and write the password stuff, then I'll get them to everyone before we leave for Christmas."

"How did your dad take that you weren't coming home for Christmas? Again?"

Vlad shrugged, trying not to think about Harry's proximity to his bare torso _or_ the angry letter his father had sent - even with Draco's gracious and **brave** offer to let him visit. That was when he realised the blond had known all along Vlad and Ingrid were biters, and just had never cared.

"I told him, Hogwarts is seven years and we're immortal. He can see me all he likes when I'm done learning to control this magic inside me."

Harry nodded, fumbling with his own necklace - unglamoured, just like his eyes and that was a rush, how Harry didn't feel like he had to hide with Vlad. If only he could be as open with his mate himself, but some things were better left unspoken. Like Vlad's body reacting in all sorts of ways it shouldn't, surreptitiously laying his pyjama shirt over his lap just in case.

"You should get to sleep. I've got dreamless sleep if you need it?"

Harry shook his head, face looking kind of tense and confused.

"Can I... Would you mind if I stayed? I can't take dreamless sleep again but I don't want to be alone. Sorry, that's weird. Forget I said it."

Harry was already trying to leave, and Vlad reacted instinctively before his mate could escape, gripping his forearm and feeling the tingle along his own at the feeling of Harry's cool skin against his palm.

"It's fine. Stay."

He was going to suggest widening the bed so Harry didn't feel compelled to lay too close to him, but the wizard was already lying down, leaving Vlad with little choice but to face away from him if he didn't want anything amiss to be noticed. Harry fell asleep within minutes, but Vlad spent about half the night shivering pleasantly with each warm breath sliding across the back of his neck. He didn't want to sleep all that much, just in case this was all some delusion and Harry hadn't asked to stay near him.

Lily woke them, slithering onto Vlad's bed in search of her wizard and fixing Vlad with an all-too-knowing stare until he turned to shake Harry awake. Harry looked so adorable waking up, sleep-ruffled hair and confused glances as he realised he was in bed with Vlad.

"You have a visitor."

Harry looked down to see Lily resting against his leg, hissing sleepily and stroking her scales for a minute or two.

"She said everyone is still asleep, I should escape before they think somethings up."

Vlad got no chance to protest, though he had no reason Harry wouldn't be scared by as the warm tingles vanished, leaving half his bed cold and empty. Once Lily slithered away and he was unobserved, he shamelessly indulged in the scent of Harry on his bedsheets for a pathetic few seconds, then dragged himself to the bathroom.

The others were just stirring by the time he was done cleaning up and dressing, the portkey pendants in his pocket as he headed down to the Great Hall. Phantom made an appearance, clambering up his clothes to bump his face with her whole head and purring. Giving her an affectionate stroke, she leapt off and barreled out of the front door when Hagrid came through it for breakfast, winning a booming chuckle from the large man who waved in greeting at Vlad.

"You're up awful early."

"Yeah, I'm a Ravenclaw in disguise. Shhh."

Hagrid made another loud, echoing sound of amusement as he strolled to the head table, while Vlad joined George at the table, the only first year awake at the Gryffindor table.

"When the others are awake, come find me outside so I can give you guys your Christmas gifts. I'm off to enjoy the snow."

George nodded, inhaling several food combinations Vlad was unsure about - bacon and maple syrup, porridge and ketchup all washed down with tea she poured some orange juice in to. At his perplexed expression, she grinned around a mouthful of eggs, thankfully swallowing before she spoke.

"Don't knock it til you try it!"

Grimacing slightly, Vlad swallowed the last of his pumpkin juice and waved at the Weasley twins, who were flanking Harry, on his way outside. They joined George at the table, and he amused himself imagining their reactions to her flavour mixing. The grounds were empty, coated in snow and it made him feel oddly peaceful as the snow crunched beneath his feet. Hermione found him there, holding a toast-and-bacon sandwich in one hand and a flask of tea.

"Could not watch that girl. Eggs and strawberry jelly Vlad. Jelly!"

Chuckling as he took a warming sip from the offered flask, Vlad hunted through his pocket for Hermione's portkey necklace. Hers was copper, a little open book with a witches hat on the pages. Not too ornate, but quite fitting he thought.

"It's your Christmas gift, but it's no good not telling you how to work it before then. You know I made Harry a portkey necklace, yes?"

Hermione nodded, beaming at it when he explained the whole thing and flushing when he implied she would spend a fair amount of time at Malfoy Manor anyway.

"Not interrupting are we?"

Jacob and Jason were both grinning cheekily, bundled up much more against the warmth than Vlad was - he had a warming charm cast on his Weasley jumper from last year, which barely fit now but it was standard December wear by now.

"No. Just explaining her christmas gift, where's George?"

"Here!"

The curly haired bundle of energy leapt up at Vlads other side, wide smile and cheeks flushed with cold, she was a ray of sunshine and happiness constantly. It was exhausting just to watch her energetic bounding sometimes.

"Right. I'm trusting you guys not to abuse these, they are for emergencies only. And christmas gifts, but enjoy an early gift. They won't work in Hogwarts, I can't bypass the wards like that" Harry's only worked because the Chamber was warded seperately and it technically belonged to the Slytherin descendant now "but if something bad were to happen, you and your family need to touch them like this" he wrapped a hand securely around Hermione's "and it'll pull you guys to Malfoy Manor. Which is warded very, _very_ well."

George had a small sun charm, Jacob and Jason had moon and star. They each put the necklaces on, looking confused but happy.

"They have a second safeguard in place, in that they should only respond to either me, because I made them, or people you share DNA with. Just in case you were worried they could be used by bad guys."

"Why us?"

"You remember Dumbledore saying Voldemort was back? He wasn't lying. And one of his followers has been in Hogwarts, and since he's after Harry, we know he knows who Harry is friends with. So muggle born students, who's families won't be able to ward or apparate and stuff get these. You two, because you're like me and Ingrid and I guess I feel extra protective. So shush and use them wisely. Remember, they have to be touching the necklace or your hand over it."

He repeated this with Ginny and her twin brothers a few minutes later, adding that their parents and Percy could obviously apparate, but they were welcome to take refuge at Malfoy Manor too. He had given the twins identical cauldron charms, and Ginny had an owl, because he thought she would like it.

Vlad had gotten himself and Ingrid one, just to blend in. Ingrid had a bat, obviously - Bertrand had his own portkey for Malfoy Manor, and the vampire wasn't a necklace type. Vlad's was a phoenix, he couldn't place a finger on why he liked it. Aside from knowing Harry's patronus was a phoenix, but he was pretending that wasn't true for now.

"A Malfoy offering protection to Weasleys. Man Vlad, you don't half make the world around you weird."

A savage, brutal snowball fight stole the rest of their morning, a couple of cut cheeks on shards of ice healed by Hermione and Vlad cast warming and drying charms on them all as they went in for lunch. It was almost completely distracting from the knowledge Harry was having his morning tea with Remus Lupin, and the wizard still didn't know the man was a werewolf.

His chest started aching again, not too bad but it would usually get worse before it got better. Suppressing the urge to rub at the scar, he clung to the reminder of how he got it - saving his mate. It didn't do anything for the pain, but it always made him feel better anyway. Harry was alive because Vlad had this scar, any amount of pain was worth that.

* * *

Why? That was the question on Harry's tongue when he woke next to Vlad. It was a loaded sort of 'why' though. Why had he asked, all whiny and sweaty? Why had Vlad _let_ him? And why did it help? Quashing the questions, he hissed a heartfelt thanks to Lily for waking him before they were found that way and escaped before Vlad could start thinking he was weird.

Remus noticed his slightly off mood, but Harry just shrugged it off and mumbled "Voldemort" to deter the protective professor. He nodded understandingingly, handed Harry the biscuit tray with a smile and turned the conversation to a tricky subject - Sirius Black.

Harry had accepted Wormtail had sold his parents out and Black was an innocent victim in that, but he was reticent to suddenly accept the man as his godfather. They hadn't spoken again since they found out Harry was a parselmouth, with his snake familiar, because Dumbledore had smuggled the escaped convict out _before_ the minister for magic had come to the school.

"He wants to know if it will be alright to owl you? Only at Hogwarts, obviously, because I understand you need to keep your place of security just that."

Supposing Hedwig would probably like something to do with her time, and if he disagreed Remus would only keep trying to convince him, Harry nodded.

"After Christmas though, since we leave in two days and it'll be pointless to start before then."

"Of course. I'll pass on the message. Which reminds me, before you leave, Merry Christmas."

Harry had been thinking along similar lines, having made him a copy of photos of his parents and Sirius Black, complete with a couple of Harry that Hermione had taken with a disposable camera - and Vlad had known how to develop so they would move. Remus handed him a big box wrapped in gaudy wrapping paper with a wry grin, one that promised the gift wasn't so gaudy.

They separated for lunch, the gift shrunk down and placed in his pocket as Harry headed for the Gryffindor table. Remus hadn't brought up the parselmouth or Lily once, and it was a little unsettling if he was honest - he wasn't about to bring it up, but he was worried Remus was waiting for Harry to go 'evil'. And that was before anyone found out Riddle was his grandfather.

His friends were all flushed and grinning, talking about the snowball fight they had had and Harry spotted several now had necklaces on - he knew Draco had given Vlad permission to offer emergency portkeys in case of Voldemort attacks to their muggle born friends and the Weasleys.

"Don't worry, we'll pummel you with snow sometime too Harry. Promise."

Fred grinned - the Weasleys were invited for Christmas fun but they couldn't publicise that was where Harry would be. The knowledge he was leaving Hogwarts for the holidays was out as an undercurrent, to ensure Hogwarts wouldn't be invaded in the search of him while teachers were away for the holidays.

Their dorm mates dashed off for more snowball fights that afternoon, as though they hadn't spent the previous weekend doing the exact same thing. Vlad chuckled as he watched them run off, face falling when they were alone and his hand rubbed at his clothed chest.

"Want your painkiller?"

Vlad shook his head, he didn't like taking them too often and apparently it wasn't a terrible twinge. Harry checked they were alone before sitting in front of a small hand mirror, trying to focus on making his eyes look not-snake. Vlad joked it could have been worse whenever Harry lost his patience with it, pointing out he could be scaly like Lily and Samael. That was generally enough to calm Harry down with a laugh so he could try again.

"You got a handle on Parselmouth, and you've not accidentally turned anything into a snake for weeks. You'll get this."

Sighing grumpily, and getting a cheeky grin from his vampire friend, Harry went back to glaring at his reflection. He still couldn't get it to stay for more than five or ten minutes at a time, but Vlad was right - it was a lot of progress for a short amount of time. Giving up for the day before he got a migraine, he shoved the glamoured glasses back on as footsteps sounded outside the door, admitting a slightly frazzled looking Hermione.

"One day you're going to walk in on someone getting dressed and be scarred for life."

"Or giggly for days if its Draco."

Vlad ducked when Hermione threw a pillow at him, tossing it back more sedately for her to put back on Dean's bed. She was intrigued by Vlad's scar, the only one to know the full story of thr graveyard - they understood the need for secrecy, but Hermione was their best friend, they wouldn't lie to her. Vlad scowled but lifted his t-shirt agreeably, eyes fixed on the door to the dorm in case anyone walked in as Hermione stared avidly at his scar.

"It's always you two. Matching scars and everything now!"

"Any vampire would get a scar like this from that curse. A transformed vampire wouldn't even have gotten so bruised and sore from it. I don't mind it really, not like I strutted about naked before anyway. You packed for Christmas?"

Hermione nodded, helping herself to the christmas cake and flask of hot cocoa on their table - they were never short of food in their dormitory. If Hogwarts weren't full of so many staircases they would probably all be getting chubby.

"Don't forget your wand for Christmas when you visit. Bertrand and Snape have found a ward that'll block magical detection so we can keep practicing, and there's a proper training room there."

"Oh, good! Vlad can help me with Transfiguration practice, I can't seem to get the metal to animal ones properly."

Vlad nodded at Hermione, apparently giving up fighting the pain and swallowing his painkiller.

"You can help me with that Charms essay in return, there's only so many times I can write fire and ice charms cancel each other out before I'm just repeating myself."

Two days later, stomachs full of frothy hot cocoa and caramel waffles for the pre-Christmas holiday breakfast, Vlad and Ingrid joined Harry and Draco in Severus' quarters. Hermione was going home, so she could spend time with her parents first but all three would portkey over to Malfoy Manor in a few days, before they went back to go visit Hermione's grandparents.

They had waved off their first year friends and the Weasleys already, sworn promises of secrecy to not tell their parents about the portkey unless necessary. Severus appeared a moment later, his large potions ingredients case carefully placed into Vlad's backpack, amused noises at even the teachers utilising Vlad's cavernous bag being silenced quickly by glares.

"Let's go before Vlad starts twitching with excitement about the Malfoy library?"

Vlad glared at his sister, but Bertrand and McGonogall slipped through the door, Bertrand because he was coming along too, and McGonogall because she wanted to check everyone was together and ready.

"Professor Dumbledore created this portkey, which can take you both to Malfoy Manor and then back here again. Simply all hold it and say" the woman sighed, clearly at a loss with her boss "fizzing whizzbee to return. The password to leave is" she put the portkey down so as not to be taken away by it and rolled her eyes again "cockroach cluster. Enjoy your holidays gentlemen. And Miss Dracula."

The students were giggling at the exasperated teachers, who finished collecting their things, waved to Professor McGonogall and Severus ground out "cockroach cluster" through gritted teeth when everyone was touching the neon green plastic hula hoop.

They landed harshly on the grounds, and luckily Bertrand had thought ahead and gotten his sun protective charms done, because they had totally forgotten as he started smouldering slightly. The hula hoop got hung up by the front door, a swarm of house elves greeting them happily in high pitched voices.

"Everyone go and get unpacked and settled, we will convene for tea and a light lunch in exactly ninety minutes. Mr Dracula, kindly hand over my potions ingredients."

Vlad eased out the case of ingredients, enlarged Harry's trunk for him until the ward was set in place and everyone separated to their rooms to unpack for the holiday. House elves popped up to check if anyone had forgotten laundry for them to do, checking feverently that they had kept the rooms to high enough standards and just generally jumping for joy they were back.

"Master Malfoy was not a pleasant master, we is enjoying the young master and his friends much much more!"

Chuckling, Harry finished shelving his books, hung his clothes and decided he had time for a quick shower. Hogwarts was good, but the Manor bathroom was just... unbelievable. Taking stock of himself, stood in front of the mirror with a towel around his waist, the cut Wormtail had made was completely gone, the circular scar from Samael still there, still scaly and cold.

Without his glasses, Harry focused on trying to shift his eyes back but they weren't cooperating at all today. Scowling, he checked the rest of his face for changing, relieved to find he still looked mostly like the pictures of his father, no Tom Riddle showing in his face yet.

Dressing in some casual jeans and one of the green t-shirts Vlad and Draco had convinced him into buying, then pulling his glasses back on to cover his eyes, Harry reclined on his luxurious bed and waited to be called for lunch by a house elf. He knew dangers were waiting, but they were safe here and he was going to enjoy the feeling for a few minutes, before they added training in magic to essays and potion practice over Christmas.

-YDHP-

 **I'm so mean to Vlad... I should be sorry really, and I sort of am but I also love the little bits of tension that good old dense Harry is oblivious to. Because lets face it, even canon!Harry is as observant as a brick wall.**


	21. Festivities Abound

**Jon - I see you logged in again! Haha. I don't know who would hate getting 'the talk' from Snape. I would think they all just decided to obliviate each other, then themselves just to be sure they never remembered it. Vlad doesn't whine... much, no matter how mean I am to him! All he wants is pumpkin juice and Harry hugs.**

-YDHP-

Christmas at Malfoy manor was extravagant from the start. The house elves had already decorated, so there were elegantly charmed Christmas trees in every seating room, decorations hovering in mid air and candles that flickered different colours, releasing different scents to compliment the almost never-ending baking they did.

They had the ward to prevent magical detection up within a day, so they agreed to seperate the holidays. Their first week was for essay work and potions practice, like before. The second week was relaxed mornings, spell practice between lunch and dinner and reading for the evening. Their third week would be actual training. That was only a guideline, as Vlad and Harry spent almost all their free afternoons working on spells, and evenings scouring the Malfoy library for information.

Harry watched as Vlad's head snapped up, turning to the door and running over to the nearest front-facing window.

"The Weasleys are here! And Hermione."

"Put the 'dark books' back in the corner? I don't think he would arrest us, but Mr Weasley can't just ignore them laying out and about."

Vlad waved his hand, the books hovering over to the enclosed corner that didn't have an obvious entrance and Harry piled the more innocuous books on magic study in the centre of the table - he was part way through the stack and didn't want to re-organise them later.

All the Weasleys (minus the one nobody really liked) and Hermione's parents were staring around the decadent decorations, and the twins spotted the plates piled with cakes and cookies in seconds. Hermione only had eyes for her friends, leaping at them in fierce hugs and declarations of "I missed you!" all around.

Mr and Mrs Weasley greeted Severus and Bertrand, who were sat aside from the teenagers discussing the Daily Prophet. Mr and Mrs Granger looked truly star-struck, but Harry thought her mother might have spotted the way Hermione and Draco were looking shyly at each other. Vlad started shaking with suppressed laughter next to them, and when Harry followed his friends eyeline upwards every piece of mistletoe hung around the room started hovering over the two.

Hermione flushed, but it seemed to steel Draco's nerve somewhat and everyone gaped, then cheered, clapped - or rolled their eyes and looked away in Ingrid's case - as the two finally kissed.

"Ok, who won the bet? Harry had Valentines, so did Seamus and Dean."

"That would be Neville, he said Christmas!"

Draco and Hermione looked around as they became hot gossip, realising everyone had been just waiting for this to occur. They deliberated for a minute, then Draco took her hand and led her over to the table, where everyone gathered around into seats and hot cocoa flowed copiously.

"Bubbly will show you all to your rooms, if you need anything just call her. Otherwise, we'll be outside enjoying the snow!"

An elf popped next to the Weasleys and led them to one of the guest wings - near their rooms, but set aside a little so the official occupants would have privacy from visitors. The Weasley twins and Ginny soon joined them outside, entering into vicious snowball wars until they were all soaked through. It took some begging and pleading, but Vlad eventually joined them on broomsticks for a 3-on-3 game of Quidditch. Ingrid agreed to referee - solely because she enjoyed distracting the twins enough that they flew into each other, or the goalposts.

The break from studying was much needed, and the raging war outside didn't penetrate the bubble of happiness that afternoon. Dinner was rich and heavy, followed by butterbeers and spiced pumpkin juice accompanied by stacks of gingerbread and Christmas pudding.

It was cliche (according to Ingrid) but everyone dumped their Christmas gifts under the biggest tree, even with Christmas a few days away yet but it looked so _festive_ Harry couldn't stop grinning whenever he saw it. The Dursleys had never involved him in Christmas, unless he counted when they bought a new mop and handed it to him while Dudley opened enough computer games and toys to open his own store.

"Sweet Merlin, this place is huge!"

"I could fit a dragon in here and have room to spare!"

Peering out into the reception hallway, Harry spotted Charlie Weasley, and who must be Bill too, taking hurried steps away from Severus who had apparated them into the manor - to join their family, obviously.

"Harry! So it's true, you've been smuggled over to the dark side?"

"Be quiet Bill, these two are the ones who saved Ginny!"

They were like older, stockier versions of Fred and George, both giving Harry and Vlad hugs and hair-mussing in greetings. They were even more exuberant greeting the other Weasleys, thanking Draco cordially for allowing them to stay there too.

"Don't let on this is where Harry is and anyone's welcome. This place is enormous, I'm hardly going to run out of space. Your rooms are near your parents, the house elves are on call if you need something. We're going to do some duelling practice before dinner, just ask to be pointed to the second training room."

They promised to keep the secret for Harry's safety, both giving (a very surprised) Draco brotherly shoulder nudges and following their parents to their rooms. The student-aged teens all picked up their wands, changed into comfortable, breathable clothes after the soggy snowball fights. Bertrand and Severus took lead on example - Bertrand was a skilled fighter in both hand-to-hand and weapon-combat, Severus skilled in magic. They made a fearsome duo to train with.

"It's no secret I know how the Dark Lord fights, so that can only aid us in training here. Miss Weasley, I will ask that you sit out at least for now, you can join in spell practices but I would rather you not risk a stray curse from those who've had their magical spurt."

Ginny nodded, watching rapturously as they were paired up - Harry and Hermione against Draco, Vlad against Bill and Charlie and Ingrid against the Weasley twins.

"He favours outnumbering, so this is an exercise in shielding against two. Bonus points for silent casting, and obviously stick to non-lethal curses."

Everyone stared a little blankly - especially the older Weasley family members who didn't know Vlad was easily the most powerful there. Percy opted to sit with Ginny, taking notes as everyone raised their wand.

"Come on guys, I'm good."

Bill and Charlie shared an incredulous look, then nodded and aimed at Vlad. Vlad didn't say a word as they both shot stunners at him, and the shield charm was barely even visible as a shimmer in the air before both Weasleys were unconscious on the floor.

Next was Harry's turn, remembering he too had managed silent charms before and knowing his friends weren't as powerful as Bill or Charlie. His shield stopped their charms but didn't deflect them, and he stumbled slightly when they both hit at the same time but his shield held.

Ingrid didn't even look as though she was paying attention, and her shield reflected Fred and George's hexes back twice over - both found themselves covered in itchy boils all over and falling to their tickling jinx laughing hysterically. Severus reversed the hexes, revived the unconscious adults and smirked approvingly at Vlad.

"Rule One - don't underestimate an opponent."

Both Charlie and Bill looked a little sheepish against Vlad smirking, commending him on being surprisingly strong.

"Voldemort is back" several people shuddered, but Vlad just ploughed on "I can't afford to slack off. Let's go again."

Ginny got to practice shields too, but with Hermione casting simple and non-painful things at her - Ginny found herself with purple hair and clothes flashing colours, but blocked every other spell until she had to stop, exhausted.

"You've got some good raw potential. When your power spurts come in, we should all be wary of you."

The small girl beamed at Vlad, and they were a tired but buoyed bunch over dinner. They all spent the next morning in the library doing essays, Hermione and Severus loitering to make sure everyone was doing well, Bill and Charlie on hand for advice mostly to Ginny - it was clear she adored her older brothers.

"What's it like being the only Slytherin here? Apart from Professor Snape that is."

It was obvious they weren't asking Ingrid in a judgemental manner, and he was glad nobody was looking at him to notice him tense up at the mention of Slytherin - his dreams had abated a little but he was always wary of more.

"It doesn't make much difference, you left in time to miss this lot" she gestured at the Gryffindors as a whole "and their crusade to make friends across the houses. We got this set of identical twins, one a lion and one a snake, so now everyone's best buds. Well, a lot of the older Slytherin students are resistant but the first years all get along."

Ginny added on that the Slytherins in her year were 'alright', and that seemed to solve the matter - especially when Fred and George decided to declare their undying love for Ingrid in their usual dramatic fashion. Mr and Mrs Weasley found them lying on the floor begging Ingrid to notice them, shaking their heads in a resigned sort of "not again" expression, then informed them it was an hour to lunch so they should be finishing up soon.

Managing to finish his History Of Magic essay, yawning at the memory of the class itself, Harry went to wash ink off his hands in the little bathroom off to the side. Bill Weasley followed, scrubbing off a little inked heart Ginny had drawn on his hand with a fond smile.

"She was so quiet after the chamber thing, we heard how you and Vlad always try to cheer her up. She's coming out of her shell again, so thanks."

Feeling a little unsure how to respond, Harry just nodded, dried his hands and left the bathroom in time to see Ingrid hex Draco for 'looking gooey', and the twins just because. It was bizarre to think this time a year ago, Malfoy Manor would have been cold and 'for show', now it was Draco's home and full of people who cared about each other. Regardless of what was awaiting them, Harry was already sure this would be their best Christmas yet.

* * *

After lunch came 'the talk', the one where the Weasleys all swore they believed Harry and Vlad about Voldemort returning - and Vlad was relieved he didn't have to reveal his killing curse scar to convince them - then they would have to explain why it didn't kill him.

"Of course we believe you. Dumbledore did, even if Fudge is denying it."

"I can see why he would deny it, but as the leader of the Magical world, it's his job to prepare even if it's only possibly true. He ignored us completely, even had a dark-marked auror stood not three feet from us the whole time and didn't notice."

Several eyes turned to Snape, and Vlad cringed internally - he knew the professor hated the mark and resolved to figure out a way to remove it. His chest started twinging, but only in a mildly annoying ache, easily ignored. Sipping at his juice and tossing yet another copy of the Daily Prophet swearing the wizard world was safe into the fire, he sighed.

"Alas, Fudge has always been a little... stubborn. It was how he got elected I fear, many of you-know-who's followers who dodged jail and kept their status and voting rights wanted someone who would refuse to see outside of his own world view. They got it."

"Yeah, the dementors are being removed from Hogwarts. Not that they weren't revolting, but blimey he put them there for Sirius Black, but not the big bad man himself? Honestly."

He knew Harry would be thrilled to hear those accursed things were gone, but Fred was right about the logic of the action being totally backwards.

"Come on, let's see if Ginny can disarm yet."

After some more determined spell practice, a shower and a fairly quiet dinner, Vlad went back to trawling Malfoy library and sat quietly reading while Harry was out flying with the Weasleys - Bertrand was watching them, he wasn't worried. Hermione joined him, rolling her eyes and complaining about "boys and their brooms", then checking Vlad's chest wasn't hurting.

"I'm fine, we've been disarming and shielding for over a year now, doesn't really strain my magic. How are your parents taking all of this?"

Hermione grimaced, and he suddenly wished he hadn't asked.

"I'm worried they'll kidnap me and refuse to let me back to Hogwarts, if I'm blatantly honest. They love seeing magic for real, but all this talk of the madman after us isn't exactly encouraging."

"They should be proud. You've saved lives, actual, real peoples lives. You're powerful and smart, brightest witch of our age and a constant reminder that everything Voldemort stands for about blood purity and rights to magic is **wrong.** You have that necklace, if they try that then use it and we'll go kidnap your parents, keep them safe. Me and Harry wouldn't have made it this far without you, and Draco will be sad if you leave him now."

Hermione chuckled through a few tears, hugging him tight and kissing his cheek. There was never any concern for misconstrued intentions with them - he knew she liked Draco and she knew Vlad was bonded to Harry, even if Harry wasn't aware of it.

"Thanks Vlad. I don't know, I just wish... I wish I could take them out of here until its all over. Is that selfish?"

"To wish you had cast iron certainty your family is safe? Hermione, how is that selfish? You could always get Bertrand to hypnotise them into moving somewhere hot, somehow I doubt Voldie the pale unfriendly ghost is any fonder of the sun than Ingrid."

One of the reasons Vlad was happy to be keeping his father mostly at wings length from his life right now (aside from not wanting to risk him realising the way Vlad looked at Harry, or his vampirism being exposed) was that it meant a lower risk of his father being in danger. Nobody was looking for the Prince Of Darkness in a run down castle in Stokely. No, he would suffer any and all complaints about their distant relationship until this war they would wage was over. He was immortal - he had all the time in the world to repair their relationship. When it was safe.

Giving up on having the privacy to research Slytherins bloodline, the Riddle family of Little Hangleton or horcruxes until after Christmas day when their guests would leave, Vlad tossed his book aside (well, he placed it carefully on a bookcase because Hermione was watching) and followed her outside, indulging in the pure joy on Harry's face whenever he was flying.

Dinner was brighter that evening, everyone lifted by a more relaxed mood. Christmas Eve was the next day, and even the adults were a little excited, he was sure. He was confused by the random waking in the middle of the night, briefly concerned enough to cast a light spell when his bedroom door opened, relaxing instantly at the sight of Harry.

"Vlad?"

"I'm awake. Come on in."

He didn't know _why_ Harry came to him after nightmares, but he wasn't complaining about being able to take care of his mate.

"Want to talk about it?"

Harry dropped into the side of the bed Vlad had just vacated, eyes 'normal' even without his glasses and a few stray tears still on his cheeks, making Vlad's chest ache in a way desperate from his scar.

"It wasn't... Bad, I guess. Just sad. Solace having the last Christmas with her mother, not knowing it would be the last. I don't know, I guess it just reminded me of how I only got one Christmas with my parents."

Vlad didn't realise he had done it immediately, reaching for Harry's wrist and squeezing gently, reassuringly. Harry teared up again, burrowing into Vlad's chest and holding him tight. He shouldn't be enjoying it, not when his mate was so sad but it was the only time Harry was so tactile, the only time he held Vlad like this.

Searching for something to do other than awkwardly lie there, he ran a soothing hand over Harry's hair, feeling the strands slide neatly between his fingers and Harry sniffled, but relaxed again. It was an uncomfortable position for Vlad, but the stiff back he would wake with was well worth this moment, and he was far too scared to disturb him and risk Harry letting go.

"Thank you."

He barely heard it, the whisper thick with emotions and held-back tears.

"For what? You don't ask for nightmares."

"For not thinking I'm weird to need this."

Smiling to himself where Harry couldn't see - he _loved_ being the one Harry came to for comfort - Vlad shuffled slightly to stop Harry's wrist-bone digging into his rib a little, and resumed stroking his hair while he could get away with it.

"There is nothing wrong with seeking comfort Harry, you're not a machine. If this makes you feel better, then that's fine."

Silence and darkness fell over them again, and Harry fell asleep there, leaving a little damp patch of tears on Vlad's sleep shirt. Vlad couldn't sleep, just watching and unsure he wasn't dreaming about how obviously Harry found comfort, safety - maybe even solace, in Vlad. He was already wondering if he could find a way to hide this shirt from the elves, saturated in the scent of his mate as it was, then realised that was probably pretty weird.

When he realised Harry was stirring, he closed his eyes and hoped his heart wasn't giving him away. He had to swallow a whine of loss when Harry's arms loosened and moved off him, feigning a yawn and stretch before Harry could escape.

"Sorry. I don't know why I do this."

Gripping Harry's wrist and pulling him back, Vlad hugged him close, all sleep warmth and lazy muscles.

"Because we're friends. If that's what you need, I'm ok with that. What do you think, that I'm going to mock you for wanting a hug when you get bad dreams?"

Harry shrugged, relaxing a little in the hug and Vlad hated that he had to end it before Harry thought him weird.

"Don't be silly. It can be our secret, but never ever be ashamed of feeling Harry. Love is what saved you from Riddle, don't ever lose that."

Harry's jaw tensed, then he nodded tightly and left. Vlad let him, sad to see him go but knowing Harry had to process - and he hadn't woken with another nightmare, so at least his mate had slept. Swallowing down a pepper up to account for his own lacking sleep, he pocketed a couple of pain reliever vials and padded down for breakfast. He was the first awake, though Charlie Weasley came down not long after, following a boisterous house elf with wide eyes as he saw the breakfast table.

"This is tame, the first time we were here they cooked like it was Halloween at Hogwarts. So much food!"

Charlie smiled, sleepily sipping at a cup of coffee while Vlad started on his porridge. Harry was quiet, but ate a fair amount of bacon and sausage before they did a little homework, then some potions practice.

The evening brought a Weasley tradition - opening one gift the night before. Everyone opened their Weasley jumpers, trading them for last years - everyone had grown out of them by now. Bertrand and Snape looked surprised to be involved in the gifts, though they had thick winter socks and slippers instead of jumpers. After some caramel fudge flavoured hot cocoa, chocolate cookies and gingerbread in the shape of dragons, everyone went to bed full and happy.

Vlad liked Christmas, though clearly nowhere near as much as the Weasleys did. Draco seemed to forget he could be joyful and childlike at first, but Harry's excitement was contagious and the two wrestled in their pyjamas, fighting for who got to open a gift first and it was a heart-warming sight to see them at ease on such a family-orientated holiday.

Even Ingrid laughed and wore her Weasley jumper, though Mrs Weasley knew to make it a thinner knit, slimmer fitting and only in black with a red bat across the front. Mrs Weasley sat with Snape and Bertrand, observing and smiling over her coffee, but Mr Weasley got right down into the piles of wrapping paper, gleefully smiling when he saw the rubber ducks Vlad and Harry had given him.

Harry placed one aside - the wrapping clearly screamed Fred and George, and he wondered what that was about as he caught 'open alone' scrawled across the paper. House elves periodically vanished the cloud of paper they produced, and the exuberant energy was unbelievable. Bertrand had given them all books on defensive magic, and Snape had given them all books on healing potions - very fitting for the training they were doing.

Ginny was enthralled by the boxes of sweets and chocolates she had, which her brothers gave mildly concerned looks - apparently she could be quite the sugar fiend.

It took a while for the adults to convince them into actually having breakfast, all decadent pastries and horrendously unhealthy foods. But, as several Weasleys, Harry and Draco all repeated, eerily in sync with beaming grins pointed out - "It's Christmas!"

-YDHP-

 **I planned to put something useful or story-heavy in this chapter, I did, but I thought they deserved some Christmas fun times before its back to reality.**


	22. Fine Lines

**A non - I'm not sure where you get the idea Vlad had his fangs and powers? I know he did in Insomnia but that was a dream. Hypnosis everyone could do before transforming, and flaming was by accident... Then there was the crown of power but we don't see him again until seventeen. (Not trying to put you down, just confused where you're getting that from?) As for the Count, he** ** _does_** **have more of a presence later on, but it's pointless working him in for just one or two lines when he's not integral to the plot/story at the moment? I miss him too, he's not forgotten.**

 **vampireharry the 2 - thank you!**

 **Jon - ah, makes sense now! Also, I love that idea of a conversation! Harry would be so confused being told off for it, trying to understand why they called it his. Poor Vlad - try to explain _that_ one.**

-YDHP-

The gift from Remus transpired to be a set of books on 'mythical creatures' that actually existed - vampires, werewolves, phoenixes, dragons and so on. Even magical snakes. It described the common stories, disputed false rumours and spoke of how to fight, defend against and kill. Harry supposed at least it wasn't just a book on all the bad things about vampires. And they looked like good books overall. At least according to Vlad, who had a quick glance at them.

The other gift he waited to open, the one from the Weasley twins, confused him at first. It appeared to just be a slightly worn, very folded and _old_ bit of parchment. Beneath it was a note, clearly written by the Weasley twins themselves - both of them, their writing similar but not identical.

 _"We present to you, the secret to our success._

 **It's a wrench giving it to you mate, believe me.**

 _But we decided, your needs are greater than ours._

 **To activate it, simply tap your wand and say**

 _I solemnly swear that I am up to no good._

 **When you're done, tap again and say Mischief Managed.**

 _ **Otherwise anyone can read it."**_

Feeling a little silly, Harry tapped his wand on the parchment they had gone to the effort of wrapping.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

From the tip of his wand, ink started to crawl across the parchment. The ink curled into letters, which formed words slowly but surely.

"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present The Marauders Map."

Around the words was a rough sketch of what Harry thought might be Hogwarts. Vlad was far less surprised by the map than he, which was his next question.

"Have you seen this before?"

"A few times. It's how we checked you weren't at Hogwarts when Wormtail... wait."

 _Wormtail._

There was the name on the map. Next to three other names. Peter Pettigrew had been one of four boys in that year at Gryffindor. Could it be?

"Vlad" Harry felt a little choked as he held the map a little more delicately "do you think this was theirs? My dads? Sirius and Remus too?"

"I don't know. Wormtail referred to his rat animagus form at a guess. Were the others animagi?"

"You know, I've never even considered that."

This made Harry realise he still knew very little about his parents. And he had never asked Remus if he or the others were animagi.

"I'm going to go send Remus a note asking. I'll be careful what I say, but I know you can't go near the owlery. Mischief Managed."

Harry tapped the map, then grabbed the twins' note and dashed off for the owlery. Vlad looked like he was about to say something, but he didn't try to slow him down any so it must have been able to wait. Malfoy owlery had self-inking quills waiting, so Harry deliberated for several minutes before just scrawling "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?" on the back of the note, then scribbled over the original note with the passwords on the other side.

He apologised to Hedwig, both for neglecting her and for the long trip, recieving a scolding nip on his finger but a soft, affectionate hoot before she took the note he held out.

"To Remus. And if you didn't give Vlad death glares you could spend more time with me, I can't kick him out of Gryffindor dorm. Stay at Hogwarts ok? We had to ward out incoming owls, but I'll come see you as soon as I'm back. I promise."

Hedwig gave another hoot, muffled by the parchment she had in her beak before soaring away. He hoped Remus knew to wait until he got back to Hogwarts, McGonogall and Dumbledore knew the wards used.

By the time he was back in the main body of the Manor, the elves were herding everyone to the dining room, where enough food to feed the entire Great Hall awaited - Christmas dinner. Mrs Weasley scolded her children for eating contests, Vlad and Ingrid threw sprouts at each other and there were looks of horror at some of the hats and hairpieces that burst from their wizard crackers - and squeals of surprise from Hermione's muggle parents.

Fred and George put on the gaudy pink feather-covered... Harry wasn't sure they were hats, and Ginny pranced around between dinner and pudding with a lime green wig. Percy refused, but his brothers ganged up to push the Victorian bonnet on his head, and Bill put his roaring dragon hat on with good grace.

Christmas was their day off work, and everyone was allowed a glass of mulled wine. Fred and George pretended to be obscenely drunk, Vlad downed it without blinking and shrugged. Ingrid tipped half of hers over Percy when he knocked food onto the floor near her, and Severus and Bertrand acted like they were nothing but friends in front of the amassed non-knowing.

Harry had never had such a good Christmas. **Ever**.

By evening, everyone was full of food, cheer and warming drinks, with a touch of alcoholic buzz. Harry and Vlad announced a blanket ban on 'Volde-talk' for the whole evening, and they broke off into games of chess and Exploding Snap, Ginny wrestling her new gobstones kit from the crackers away from Phantom. Harry went to bed feeling utterly relaxed, finding a few moments peace forgetting everything but one of those memories he would have to hold on to, no matter what the future brought.

 _"Father! I did it! I graduated!"_

 _Solace bounced around proudly, in spite of the elegance all around them and the ballroom-esque style of her graduation outfit, her father spun her around happily._

 _"I couldn't be prouder, and I know your mother would be too."_

 _"I miss her. Do you think there's really an afterlife, that she's watching?"_

 _"Of course. There are ghosts proven to exist, I know she will have seen you become the beautiful young woman she always knew you would be."_

 _It still hurt, she still missed her mother, but Solace had eventually learnt to make peace with the knowledge her mother had died for the noblest cause she could - love._

 _They portkeyed - the new, shorter nickname for tele-port-keys - back to their home, and Sammy greeted her happily._

 _"I missed you too! You've grown again, you'll be having e_ _ggs soon at this rate."_

 _"Perhaps. Your education is complete, yes? You no longer need to leave?"_

 _"Yes. I may not be able to take you absolutely everywhere, but I won't be gone three quarters of the year anymore."_

 _Sometimes, having a pet with three heads was a little confusing, each with their own thought process but Sammy was brilliant, and had behaved well for the years she had had to spend away from them. Sammy was six feet long now, almost full-grown._

 _Runespoor coiled up tight next to her, her father comfortable in his armchair by the fire, they enjoyed a celebratory meal of more expensive meat and freshly harvested vegetables._

 _"What will you do now? You're a bright girl Sol- Sunny, you can do something magnificent if you choose."_

 _"I don't know father. I think I would like to visit our old home, now I can safely protect myself but I want to see where mother used to say goodnight to me."_

 _"I understand. Whatever you decide, I'll support you."_

 _"I know father. I know."_

 _She wished they didn't have to hide, that she could still be Solace, not Sunny, but Sammy still called her Solace and that would have to do. It was a few months before she set off, wanting to spend a decent run of time with her father and Sammy. Sammy was most unimpressed by being asked to stay behind, but it was a long trip and a runespoor snake was hardly inconspicuous._

 _Special points that magically moved witches and wizards from one country to another existed, and so Solace went there. Some said maybe one day individuals could move themselves, but she doubted that - they had these special points, and tele-port-keys, why would anyone tax their magical core that way? Insanity._

 _She landed in a little village outside of mainland Scotland, the transport point magically concealed so she would appear to be leaving a decrepit old cottage. From there it was only a few hours walking, and she stopped in a pleasant village pub for food and drink. Having gone to a predominantly female school, it was slightly odd to have multiple men eye her with interest. She was slender, she supposed, with long dark hair and the genetic mix of grey eyes and pale skin. Not massively intriguing to her own mind, she thought herself plain, particularly in comparison to the memories of her beautiful mother._

 _One or two of them seemed to consider approaching her, but she used a gentle confunding spell, silently aimed from her wand beneath the table, to make them forget that and finished her meal in peace. On her way again, she didn't recognise the area with her eyes, but her magic **knew** this place._

 _Led by invisible instincts to a small, non-descript shack out of the way, she felt connected to it somehow. And as a girl, she had scarcely ventures beyond the little back garden where snakes like Sammy would come and find her, so this had to be it. It didn't look the same, but maybe it had been rebuilt?_

 _The closer she got, darkness starting to steal across the sky in blues and purples, the more it pulled at something inside her. Reaching a rusted, slightly swinging gate, faced with the building she knew in her heart had been the place her mother fell to her... she didn't want to call him her uncle, he didn't deserve the familial recognition, Solace choked a little on a sob and gripped the nearby fence. A sort of tingle travelled through her arm, and the scene before her shifted._

 _The shabby shack became a fairly sturdy looking stone cottage, the door still clean off it's hinges and lying on the floor, rotted by time but somewhat identifiable as what it used to be. Now she was here, Solace wasn't sure she could bring herself to cross the threshold._

 _"You ok Miss?"_

 _His accent was thickly Scottish, with sandy blond hair, but his eyes were kind, bright green and full of gentile concern. He appeared to be able to see the cottage too, which made her wonder if they were muggle or not._

 _"Fine, fine. Just a little overwhelming."_

 _"Yeah? I've lived here a decade, you get used to the feeling I guess. The muggles don't see it, but even they don't like this place. You are a witch right?"_

 _"Yes, yes I am."_

 _"And French, by the sounds of it. What you doing this way m'lady?"_

 _Solace had forgotten her accent would have formed to where she had lived for the last seven years, but now it must be totally apparent._

 _"I lived here as a girl, we moved when the Slytherin fight broke out. Just... thought I would come see the scene for myself. I'm Sunny."_

 _"Nikolas. You want to go in?"_

 _Solace steeled her courage, nodding tightly. The Scottish boy held out a hand, offering comfort to the obviously traumatised French girl crying silently over the rusty gate, and she took it. He felt... safe, it was strange. He led her along the little cobblestone path, stopping at the doorway._

 _"You sure about this? Not everyone can handle being in here."_

 _Solace wasn't sure in the slightest, but she had come this far, and she owed her mother this bravery. Unable to find her voice, she nodded. Nikolas stepped around the remnants of door, supporting her as she stumbled slightly on shaking legs._

 _Not entirely sure what she was expecting, it wasn't old wooden floorboards in one room, the rooms walls still bearing scorch marks and feeling **dark**_ _in the air. She had to swallow down the urge to vomit when she saw the blood, dried nearly black and stained into the wood. And she was certain of that, the faintest lingering feeling of her mother there._

 _Letting go of the hand holding hers, she fell to her knees and cried. Grief was the only possible explanation for her forgetting herself, clutching the necklace around her neck and hissing the way she always had when she misses her mother._

 _"You're her aren't you? Sorrow's daughter. Everyone assumed Salazar had taken you to raise in the dark arts."_

 _The words broke through the haze in her mind, and Solace staggered back to her feet, backing away and wondering if she would have time to get away or go for her wand._

 _"Hey, it's ok. A lot of people don't believe in him so much anymore since he left Hogwarts. I'm not going to hurt you, I just wouldn't have let you come in if I'd known it would make you so sad. Solace, I'm sorry."_

 _Hearing her real name on a human tongue stopped her dead, looking up to the still-soft green eyes. She panicked when he pulled his wand, but he bent and placed it on the ground next to him, holding his hands up to reinforce that he was unarmed._

 _"How did you..."_

 _"I went to school with Scorpius, Salazar's son. Sorted into Slytherin too, that weird Merlin kid was a few years above us and Scorpius used to brag all the time about his father, and how they were going to find you. Merlin used to tell him to shut up. I miss him. But the villagers around here, the magicfolk who don't know much, they think the murderer took you."_

 _She knew of Merlin, of course - his magical skill was outstanding even as a young student. He was also a unique Slytherin student, believing magic and muggles could co-exist peacefully. Maybe one day she could meet him and share their beliefs... If this Scottish boy didn't kill her._

 _"Scorpius? What is it with our family and S names?"_

 _"Well it matches. My family seem to be going for alphabetical. My older brother is Markus, my younger sister is Ophelia. At this rate it'll be Potato and Queenie."_

 _She couldn't help laughing, and his eyes actually lit up when she smiled through the tears a little. Her father had always said to trust her instincts on people, and Solace trusted this strange Scottish boy._

 _"Would you mind... could I have a moment alone here?"_

 _"Oh, of course. I'll uh, keep watch outside."_

 _Nikolas did indeed pick his way through the debris, standing outside. Solace knelt down again, picking at the floorboard that she had noticed creaking when she stepped on it. The panel came up easily enough, revealing some straw and splintered wood. That shifted, and there was a box. A box with the same elegant S that was etched on her pendant._

 _"Uh, Sunny?"_

 _Nikolas had called her Solace, so why the change back? She grabbed the box, putting it into a concealed, magically expanded pocket of her coat._

 _"What?"_

 _"I'm coming in."_

 _Nikolas all but ran back into the room, looking behind him._

 _"I don't know if there was a trip spell or something for you, but there are people here and they don't look friendly. We need to get out of here."_

 _If he had wanted to hand her over, all he would have had to do was stay silent. She remembered the tingle on her forearm before, wondering if that had been a trigger recognising her._

 _"Before... We left through the back because Salazar always made an entrance."_

 _Nikolas nodded, creeping over to the back window and backing away almost instantly._

 _"Nope. Bad guys at all angles."_

 _"Then get out of here, they aren't after you."_

 _Nikolas shook his head, straightened his shoulders and grabbed her hand again._

 _"Slytherins protect their own. There's a fine line between self preservation and cowardice, and Solace, you're it."_

 _This boy didn't **know** her an hour ago, and here he was offering to stay next to her during inevitable death. There wasn't even time to argue - if he was there when whoever it was arrived, they would kill him on principle. She knew Salazar Slytherin, knew his kind. _

_"I'm sorry. You would have been fine if I hadn't come here."_

 _"But I wouldn't have met you."_

 _The knowledge that this was essentially how her mother had died, except she had been alone, was all that kept Solace upright - at least she would see her mother again. She sent a mental apology to her father, because now he would lose them both._

 _The whole building rattled, but there were no doors to blow clean off. The heavy footsteps told of multiple attackers, all around the house. Nikolas didn't waver once, squeezing her hand reassuringly and seemingly calm about their impending doom. She just wished she could get him out - he shouldn't have to die for her._

 _"Got you."_

 _Some sort of instinct recognised the man in front of her, close cropped goatee and chin length hair, slicked back and greasy looking. The eyes were what shook her - identical to her own. Solace couldn't have said what happened next, feeling like her body was being forced through a tiny tube, everything hurt and her ears felt like they were going to explode from pressure, and then suddenly it was over._

 _"Sunny?"_

 _She knew that voice, it was her fathers. There was still a hand in her own, turning to see Nikolas looking very, **very** green. _

_"What the hell just happened? Where are we? Is this heaven? Hell? I'm so confused and my ears are ringing and my stomach is still back there... Oh, hi. I'm Nikolas. I think."_

 _He gave a feeble wave to her father, who was now rushing to help Solace stand, albeit shakily and leant heavily on him._

 _"I saw him. He was waiting for me to go back there. That's Nikolas, he saved me."_

 _She saw the hesitation in her father, knowing he would suspect the boy with the timing but she really did trust Nikolas. Artan eyed him suspiciously, but bent down and pulled him upright, guiding him to a nearby dining chair. Sammy slithered along the floor, wrapping loosely around her leg and hissing happily now she was back._

 _"Uh. Solace. There's a Runespoor snake on your leg."_

 _"Oh, this is Sammy. Been around since we were both small. Totally safe, promise."_

 _She was very glad to be the only parselmouth in the room when Sammy started hissing._

 _"Who's the wizard? Can I eat him?"_

 _"No. He saved me, you be nice."_

 _"Oh, very well. Can I at least think about eating him?"_

 _"Very very quietly. Now go curl up by the fire, you're scaring him."_

 _Sammy hissed grumpily, but complied and slithered over to the fireplace. The flames glimmered over the orange stripes, rising and falling minutely as Sammy breathed._

 _"Riiiight. Slytherin. Parseltongue. Totally normal I guess. Is this... is this the muggle Sorrow married?"_

 _"My father, Artan Peverell. Which is why to the rest of the world, I'm Sunny Peverell."_

 _"Gotcha. You have a wonderful daughter Mr Peverell, it's an honour to meet you."_

 _Artan looked surprised, particularly upon hearing Nikolas was sorted into Slytherin, went to school with Salazar's son, but he took the Scottish boys hand._

 _"You saved my daughter, it's a pleasure to meet you too son. Call me Artan."_

 _"Nikolas. Nikolas Potter."_

Harry woke up with his head spinning, some mix of fear and loneliness and confusion swimming in his mind. He didn't even think about it, stumbling across the hall and crawling into Vlad's bed. Anything to keep the dreams away.

* * *

He woke, he always did. When Harry came through the door, he lay still for a minute, waiting to see what happened. Harry must _really_ be out of it, or this was his Christmas gift from the universe, because Harry just burrowed under the covers and clung to Vlad, crying a little but his breathing evened out fairly quickly - he was asleep again.

Vlad was always nervous upon waking, because waking up with Harry was perfect for him, but Harry tended to be apologetic and confused, whatever emotional reason that had brought him there fading in the cold light of day. This morning was no different, Harry all shy and awkward.

"It's fine, I told you before. Want to talk about the bad dream?"

"I uh... later. Still trying to get my head around it."

"A-hem!"

Both jumped in surprise, looking up to find Fred and George Weasley, still in pyjamas and looking at the two very oddly. Harry cringed and bolted for Vlad's bathroom, leaving him to deal with the twins.

"It's not whatever you're thinking. He gets bad dreams sometimes. Understandable, no?"

The twins nodded stiffly, looking a little apologetic.

"I don't know why, but sometimes he comes to me. Apparently I help keep the nightmares away. Don't you dare make him feel bad for that, ok?"

"Got it."

"Sorry Vlad."

"His door was open, we came to see if you were awake too."

They both headed to the bathroom door, knocking gently.

"Harry? We're sorry! Please come back out here."

"We won't tell anyone, promise."

The door creaked open, and it made Vlad's chest ache to see Harry had been crying. He had to remind himself not to attack Fred and George for making him sad, head all out of whack waking up with his mate.

"Promise?"

"Totally. Not a soul."

"Yeah. Never to be mentioned again."

"So wipe your face and come see what we did to Percy's room."

"Turn that frown upside down!"

"You too Vlad, up and at em!"

Harry disappeared back in to wipe his face clean, then came back out.

"Just let me get my slippers. Stone staircases in December suck."

Fred and George nodded, bouncing excitedly while Vlad climbed out of bed, ducked into his bathroom to use the toilet and brush his teeth, then stepped into his cosy slippers by the time Harry was back, already looking happier - and wearing his glasses again. The twins led them along, pressing fingers to their mouths in a 'shh' motion. Percy's door was unlocked, and the door slid open silently. There were random things all over the floor, some giving off magic vibes, others not really.

"And now we wait."

Making a mental note to apologise to Percy later, but wanting Harry to cheer up, Vlad grinned to himself and whispered

"Or... We do this."

He pulled the door hard, so it closed quite loudly. It had the desired effect, Percy making a garbled noise as he was woken, then an irritated sound - probably for the early hour. They waited with bated breath, until the first thing was triggered. There was a wet, sliding noise and a thud, followed by a hissed "lumos" charm and an angry noise that sounded oddly like "twins!"

There was muffled laughter as a boom sounded, the crack under the door flashing bright colours and crackling sounds. Then loud screeching and carnival music, the whole room shaking and Percy went from annoyed sounds to colourful swearing. Fred and George had long buckled into bundles of laughter, leant against the wall clutching their stomachs.

Harry had that flushed cheeks, bright eyes and pure joy look about him, and Vlad's heart was doing backflips as he watched. Percy would recover - Harry needed that laugh.

"We should..."

"... Go. Fast."

They ran for it, breathless with amusement as they tumbled into the dining room, scolded by house elves into sitting quietly at the table. Percy eventually found them there, quietly hiding their faces in their breakfast until they got a good look at him.

Red and green glitter covered him head to toe, his pyjamas transformed into something worthy of Dumbledores wardrobe. Purple and lace trimmed, covered in stars coloured the full rainbow array, though the real cherry on the top that broke Vlad's control over his laughter was the full Santa beard.

"Percy, you do know Christmas was yesterday? Bit late for festive dress up."

"I know this was you two! Can I not go one holiday without your infantile pranks?"

"Not until you lighten up and remove that Comet Two Sixty from your"

"Fred! George! Why do I know you two did... that?"

The twins ducked their heads, not brave enough to look at their mother. The joke very much over, Vlad waved a "finite" charm over Percy, all the alterations to his person wearing off.

"No more Christmas jokes guys, back to serious stuff."

"Thank you Vladimir. Nice to see some still show respect."

"You were shedding glitter, I don't want it in my breakfast."

Being called Vladimir always set his teeth on edge, and Percy took a minute, then shrugged and sat down himself silently. As everyone else materialised, some still in Weasley jumpers and a couple actually dressed for the day.

"Any unfinished essay homework will be completed today, Potions and spell based work later. Tomorrow we will resume training."

Nobody bothered arguing, even if half of them were done with their essays. Ingrid spent her morning - surprisingly - with Hermione, doing extra Potions/Healing work in the lab, though Vlad our it down to her avoiding Bertrand in the library all day - he was conversing with Bill and Charlie about dragons and curse breaking, using the Malfoy library for reference.

It was clear they were at different points in their 'mate' issue, because Vlad was needy and pathetic for every minute he could spend with Harry, though he wasn't at the 'crushing loss every minute they were apart' thing, because that only came _after_ the... he had to stop thinking about it. Now.

His chest started hurting, a quick hideout in the bathroom for his painkiller taking only the barest edge of it off but he pushed through, the eerily lightning-shaped pain (how did pain have a shape? He hated dark magic) gnawing at him for hours but he could handle it. With any luck, this was a temporary thing and would stop aching so much.

A quick stop-and-chat with Snape earned him a lecture for not saying he was hurting, but a promise of freshly brewed pain relievers by next morning. Bertrand was right - he _couldn't_ take them indefinitely, but the general consensus was it would stop hurting, maybe even heal over to no scar when he transformed. Only two and a half years away... He sighed, thanked Professor Snape and headed to 'potions class'.

Bill and Charlie joined in, admitting sheepishly they were desperately out of practice at brewing and joking they missed being yelled at by Snape. Which got them yelled at, naturally. Vlad, who could hold his own at Potions but knew it would never be his passion, couldn't help laughing at the dragon-wrestler getting reprimanded for shoddy chopping, or thr curse breaker for messing up his flame charm to heat the cauldron.

Draco and Hermione naturally got perfect potions. And wolf whistles when they celebrated together by kissing. Vlad ignored the spike of jealousy, focusing his eyes on tidying up his work station, then helping Hermione with Transfiguration - she had held up her end, helping on his Charms essay.

The next day was Hermione and her parents leaving, and Ingrid ended up hexing Draco.

"You'll see each other back at school, now put each other down for evils sake!"

Clearly, she was eager to get back to training. They took a break from spell training, focusing instead on how to disarm someone without a wand. Vlad wished it wasn't because he was in too much pain to use magic, over taxing himself always making it worse so they didn't risk it.

"I'm really not sure about this."

"Look, we're clearly both the best physical fighters. I wrestle dragons, and you're no wizard."

Bertrand was reticent to physically fight Charlie, who was indeed stocky and muscular, with burn scars. Bertrand was built similarly, though a little taller and leaner - he trained, but hadn't fought bloody for some fifty years now. He wasn't worried about losing, it wasn't a pride issue - he was stronger than any human, and the Weasleys didn't know he was a biter.

"Don't kill me, anything else can be healed. Now come on."

Everyone backed off, Charlie with a wand and Bertrand clearly nervous in the centre of the room. At first it was easy enough - aim for the wrist, like Muggle self-defense for disarming a knife or gun. Charlie's wand fell from his hand, but the issue was when he grinned and engaged Bertrand physically anyway.

They wrestled and scrapped fine, until Charlie tried to pin Bertrand with an arm over his throat. In his haste not to reveal his lack of requirement for oxygen, Bertrand shoved him off a little too roughly, overpowering and breaking skin - Vlad, Ingrid and Bertrand all smelled blood.

"He's a vampire!"

Possibly out of practice with few injuries around him these days, Bertrand's fangs had dropped on instinct, and _everyone_ noticed. He pulled away from Charlie immediately, holding his breath but the damage had been done.

"Ok. Yes. He's a vampire. How many ordinary muggles do you know residing at Hogwarts?"

Vlad stepped in front of Bertrand, being the one currently immune to things like sun-charms. He was warmed when Harry stood next to him, utterly at ease with a fanged 'monster' behind him.

"Fair point, but what's he doing there anyway? Why do you need a vampire tutor?"

Starting to panic now, Vlad didn't want _this_ to be how everyone found out who and what he truly was.

"Who else knows Transylvanian history? And doesn't panic about magic? He's a good guy, I'm not afraid of him and you shouldn't be either. He helped save us from _Voldemort,_ first year. He won't bhurt you, that's a reflex. Natural as blinking to us."

Harry saved him, coming out with multiple reasons not to be concerned by Bertrand that didn't involve 'outing' Vlad and Ingrid.

"Ok then. Cool. I met a vampire. The other dragon handlers will _never_ believe this."

"I better not tell the goblins, they don't like vamps."

There was a mild level of "what the hell" still going, but it seemed to occur to them that Bertrand was _helping_ them against Voldemort, and that several of them already knew and weren't afraid. It gave him a little hope, just a little, they wouldn't all hate him in the future too.

-YDHP-

 **In case it wasn't obvious, the Solace-home scene was indeed inspired by Godrics Hollow and Harry seeing where he and Voldie had their showdown. If they didn't have stone homes at the time of the founders, apologies. My history is awful. But as Hogwarts is built of stone, I felt safe enough?**


	23. Parallel Problems

**A non - I agree this is alternate universe, but I re-watch the entirety of Young Dracula Seasons 1 through 5 at least once a month, if not more. Vlad never got his powers at thirteen. There was the almost with his grandparents and bat blood on his thirteenth birthday, but the vial was smashed so he didn't. And there was the whole dodging reflections or failing blood tests which would cost him his powers in the future, but I absolutely promise he was only fanged in a dream in season 2, and Season 3 he was seventeen so he had his fangs then.**

 **Dark Serpent Cat - She couldn't be the Peverell brothers mother, because Solace lived around the turn of the Millennium - Merlin was born very late in the 900s, and the Peverell brothers were 1200s. Nor am I going into Arthurian stuff, it just seemed worth mentioning Merlin was in Hogwarts at the time.**

 **Jon - I love the idea of you sat chanting to charm your words into convincing me, but there is absolutely no Vlad tells Harry in third year at all, you'll just have to cope!**

 **lb0302708 - you're welcome!**

 **VampireHarry the 2 - thank you again!**

 **Blimey, must be my most reviewed chapter yet! Thank you all so, so much, I love hearing that people enjoy this story, and the interactions and thought processes you all have about it.**

 **Sorry to bug you guys again, but I am _dying_ for prompts for Chosen One-shots, hit me!**

-YDHP-

"I don't know what this dream is even supposed to mean."

Harry grumbled in frustration, lying back against the floor while Vlad trawled books on the Potter bloodline.

"Me either, but it's kind of poetic I guess."

"In what way is it poetic?"

Vlad smiled indulgently, the way Harry knew meant he was infuriatingly calm while Harry stressed.

"Part Potter, part Slytherin. Just like you. A father raising a daughter he didn't biologically sire. Just like your mother. She had Sammy, you have Lily. And Samael. I'm just saying, there are parallels."

He hadn't considered that, nodding at Vlad in grudging agreement before lying a book over his face and groaning in complaint. The Weasleys were having 'family time', Ingrid and Draco were doing potions work with Severus and Bertrand, and so Vlad and Harry were taking advantage of the empty library to track this Nikolas Potter.

"I don't know the exact dates of your dreams, but you said Nikolas was what, twenty at most?"

"About that, yeah. Not much older than Solace, and he knew Merlin at Hogwarts."

"Well, I think I've found why nobody knew he was likely married into the Slytherin line. They marked his death date around his twenty first birthday. I think Salazar must have been presumed, or perhaps told people he killed Nikolas to get to Solace. There is no mention of Solace in here though, but as she took a different name and Salazar never got to her, it could be that the Potters just didn't want to associate Salazar with Nikolas."

"Makes sense, I guess. I mean, I don't know for sure that Nikolas would be the future husband, but I remember she stuck with Peverell, and gave the pendant to a granddaughter on her deathbed. So unless she was slipped some slow acting poison, she died of natural causes. That was also when it must have started skipping generations, because only that granddaughter inherited parselmouth."

Vlad noted down what Harry said (again), then went back to looking for the last known Peverell - Harry wanted to know where that family tree led to in todays generations, but he had stared at bloodlines until his eyes hurt and it was sort of frustrating. Moving topics before he started cursing bloodline books for fun, Harry looked over at Vlad.

"So, how do you think the Weasleys took the vampire thing?"

"Charlie and Bill seem alright, Ginny came around when we explained him saving our necks in first year. The twins seem to think it's cool. Percy almost had a coronary, and I think Mr and Mrs are still pretty wary. Mixed hopes for the future I guess."

Vlad looked genuinely concerned, and Harry knew Vlad had very mixed feelings about vampirism overall - he liked being magical, and it had saved his life against Riddle, but that boggart was still haunting him, he knew it.

"They know you though, and they know I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. Ginny wouldn't be alive. Merlin, I wouldn't have escaped the graveyard without you and your port key. Just be you, and they'll accept it, I'm sure. And if not, you'll still be stuck with me."

"I get all the luck."

Vlad winked as he said it, and they both broke out in laughter for a minute or two, lightening the mood considerably. The vampire was far too accepting of Harry's wobbles over vampirism, though they were now in the past, and Vlad hadn't wavered once in Harry's whole "part Slytherin/snake" thing. He didn't deserve Vlad.

"Honestly Vlad, relax. Let's leave bloodlines for today, clear up before the Weasleys reappear. The snow is starting to melt a little, and I want one last snowball fight."

"Be careful. You run a little colder, remember?"

Harry pretended to grumble in complaint, but he knew Vlad was right to remind him - the others might notice him turning blue.

"Come on Dracula, you're coming too. Get your winter gear!"

He won a long suffering sigh, but Vlad waved a hand to tidy up their reading material - after he made a list of what and where they had read up to, naturally - then followed along to their rooms. After he had explained/almost threatened to the Weasley twins, they hadn't mentioned finding Harry in bed with Vlad again. Even if Harry still cringed inwardly about it himself - he couldn't even handle his own _dreams._

Vlad had his winter clothes on a couple of minutes later - nothing too thick, but he was in the habit of layering warming and water-repellent charms on his clothes ever since Professor Sprout taught he and Draco the dirt-deterrent charms for Herbology. Now they all wore last years robes for the greenhouses, because it made sense to get _some_ use out of them, even if they no longer fit.

Everyone had shot up a couple of inches since second year, but Vlad theorised that wizard development tied in to human development - they had growth spurts and magic spurts around the same time.

The Weasley teens heard 'snowball fight' and practically ran for their warm clothes, rolling around animatedly in the snow, breaking up into teams and building snow forts. Even Bill and Charlie joined in, both with shockingly accurate aims. Ingrid saw it as below her - this time - but Draco happily dove in to the fun, trading off with Vlad, who didn't enjoy rough-housing as much as they did. He didn't begrudge that - Harry couldn't claim _all_ Vlad's time, he did have a sister to hang with.

Lily hissed in complaint when Harry made it to bed that evening, feeling exceptionally neglected apparently.

"I'm sorry, it's just been mad lately. I'm gonna take a bath, you can sit in your water dish and I'll tell you all about it if you like?"

This was most agreeable to his familiar, who coiled up happily in a bowl next to his sunk-in bath tub, and Harry realised he could get new perspective from Lily as he hissed, lazing comfortably in a bath filled with muscle-relaxant bubble bath. Parseltongue had never been easier, though he had never actively struggled to converse with a snake, it felt as close to natural as it ever had.

"I agree with the vampire, many parallels to be drawn. I believe humans call it 'history repeating itself', if we continue to work on the assumption your dreams are in fact reality."

"Well, yes. Vlad found a death date for Nikolas, and we _know_ Sorrow and Solace and Artan existed. It all seems to interconnect, right down to the time Merlin went to Hogwarts. But then, it could all be madness, I wasn't around then."

Lily nodded her scaled head up and down, rolling onto her back to soak some more.

"No, but the one who gave you these dreams. He was. Samael was placed into the chamber of secrets **before** Salazar Slytherin left Hogwarts, correct?"

Harry could have kicked himself - that made an inordinate amount of sense now. How had they never considered that aspect of Samael's age?

"Lily, that's brilliant!"

"Yes, yes, I am as you say, a genius."

Chuckling, Harry finished washing himself, muscles feeling pleasantly like butter thanks to the soaking in relaxant. The ward that let them do magic undetected meant he could dry his hair, and after Lily finished swishing herself around, he emptied the bowl and bath, then carried her around his forearm to his bed.

"So, are you going to wake the ancient king of serpents?"

"No, not yet. I'm not waking him until I know I can keep him that way safely, it's not fair just to wake him for my whims. I would be no better than Riddle if I kept doing that."

The snake huffed, slithering up to wrap around his bed post and flicking her tongue out in thought. Harry stretched out on his bed, unbelievably comfortable right now and lightened somewhat by the new angle of where the dreams had come from. Not that he expected comforting after nightmares to come under Samael saying Vlad was good for him, but he didn't think exactly like the millenia old snake.

"I suppose I understand. For now. I still think you would benefit hugely from a conversation or ten with him, but I know I bonded to a stubborn wizard."

Harry chuckled to himself, reaching up to stroke Lily's scales and smiling as she licked at the inside of his wrist - a sign of affection. He had seen her rub her tail across Vlad's cheek, show affection to a few others but she was still his familiar, the one living thing on earth his perfect match. It was nice to be chosen by a sentient creature, not a madman or a prophecy.

"I'm stuck with a cheeky strip of scales like you. Who comes off worse?"

"Definitely me. You got lucky having a familiar like me. Your vampire has that irritating furball."

Lily and Phantom got along fairly well for totally opposite species, and their antagonizing each other was basically their way of bonding, so he knew Lily didn't really mean it.

"Get comfy, I'm going to sleep now."

Lily thought on it for a minute, then moved to wrap loosely around Harry's bicep and rest her head on his shoulder. Luckily, Harry slept on his side. After the exhausting round of dreams, Harry had succumbed to the purple vial in the cabinet - dreamless sleep potion.

It gave him a blissful, blank night of solid sleep, which he was in desperate need of for their next days training - which came after difficult Potions practice. He was surprisingly good at Potions, considering he found it pretty hard, but Severus was _far_ too fond of heavily worded instructions that didn't always make sense.

Severus and Bertrand blamed translations, Harry blamed them being closet sadists. That led to several unpleasant thoughts, and Harry vowed never to think about their relationship again lest he need to obliviate himself. Bottling his potion, they took a break for lunch, then it was back to spell practice.

Bill and Charlie still made the mistake of underestimating Vlad, and the Weasley parents still regarded Bertrand very, very warily.

"No thirteen year old should be trouncing two full wizards, what are you on Dracula?"

Vlad just shrugged noncomittally, handing them both back the wands he had disarmed them of.

"I don't know. Still, Voldemort is out there, I'm not going to complain if I have a chance of surviving more than three seconds against him and his death munchers."

Ever since they had learned of the name "death eaters" for the psychopaths who followed Riddle, Vlad and Harry had been making up mocking names for them - Harry's favourite was still corpse-lickers, and Vlad looked at him in disgust whenever he said it, but laughed anyway.

"Scared, Potter?"

Draco grinned as he held up his wand, he and Harry taking turns with disarming and shield charms.

"You wish."

The simple fact was Draco wasn't as powerful as him, but Fred and George were practicing with Percy and Ginny, and Vlad with Bill and Charlie, so he had to make do. And it was still good training for his 'brother', as they had called each other. He wasn't totally sure where Ingrid was.

"Ok then, next level. Stunning charms and shields, slightly harder to block. Vladimir, try and focus on blocking rather than rebounding, that would be risky in a battlefield situation."

Vlad glared at the professor, but did as he was told and barely even twitched as each spell hit his shield. Ginny couldn't hold a _protego_ for long, but she could at least block a spell, which was impressive for a twelve year old all the same.

Harry went back to shooting stunners at Draco, but everyone but he, Vlad and the two adult Weasley children were tiring before too long. Severus paired he and Vlad up, and it was obvious the two had practiced together since first year - he and Vlad worked effortlessly together.

"Damn. These two" Bill was a little winded after trying to shield against them both, though he was still standing - Charlie wasn't "with both magical spurts up against You-Know-Who? I know where I'm betting. _Ennervate!_ Up you get Charlieeee."

"Ugh" Charlie took his brothers outstretched hand, rubbing at a sore spot a spell must have hit - Harry healed him quickly "not fair. Vlad's tough enough, the boy-who-lived on top of him is just cheating."

Fred and George started laughing at the double-meaning, and Vlad's cheeks predicatably flushed pink as they did whenever anyone made such comments about his... virtue. Maybe it was different for vampires, Harry had no clue if they thought about sex differently. Presumably Bertrand didn't, but he was... what had Vlad called it? "Bitten, not born", and also gay to boot. Harry contemplated the books Remus had given him, resolving to learn more about vampires. In between _everything_ else they had to learn.

"Maybe we should call it quits, I think we tired out those grownups."

"Eat me Potter."

Charlie grinned all the same, gave him a brotherly shoulder shove and went to raid the library for books on dragons until dinner. Bill, Ginny and the twins started up a vicious exploding snap tournament in front of the fire, the occasional house elf scolding them for the faint singe marks they made on the rugs - Harry would have understood more if it weren't for the fact they only snapped their fingers and it was fixed.

Vlad was curled up in an armchair with Phantom napping in his lap, mildly confusing Harry - Vlad always sat next to him, and there was an empty sofa seat next to Harry. He shook his head, clearing away the odd thought - Vlad wasn't bound to him, he could sit in a damn armchair by himself. All these dreams had Harry off-kilter, every hint of loneliness amplified. Where was his perfect partner, like Solace had seemingly found in Nikolas?

* * *

Dinner was fairly quiet, as most were tired out for the day by potions and training. Vlad was fighting to stay standing by the time they called an end for the day, refusing to let the pain in his chest keep him from having Harry stood next to him. The two of them, side by side - that was how it should be, and Harry was more important. Pain was nothing, not if it meant Harry was a little closer to being safe from Riddle.

Ingrid was having a bad day mate-wise, apparently watching Bertrand and Snape around each other during Potions practice with Draco had been too much, so Vlad encouraged her to sleep it off with dreamless sleep - he had been through enough bad episodes already, after all of a year, to know. Vampirically speaking, with her transformation nearing, Ingrid's instincts would be a little up and down, whereas Vlad still had years to learn to bury his before the mirror.

The Weasleys left the day before the end of the holidays, because Mr Weasley had to get back to work and the Weasley children needed to be seen on the Hogwarts Express going back to school - with obvious promises not to reveal where Harry was, or that they had spent the whole holiday training and opening gifts with him, and lots of thanks and hugs for the whole holiday experience. He could sympathise - it was the best Christmas Vlad had ever had, even with the outside concerns.

He knew the Weasley twins had gifted Harry with the Marauders Map, which served only to make Vlad panic more - now Harry would be able to avoid Vlad if he so desired. Granted, Vlad could always follow the mate bond, but Harry would still be able to see him coming in advance, and may end up questioning just _how_ Vlad could always find him. Vlad didn't have an adequate explanation for that.

They portkeyed back to Hogwarts, greeted by Professor McGonogall who had two requests - Vlad had to go see Madam Pomfrey for his chest, and Harry had a waiting invitation from the werewolf. He was only mildly appeased by Harry promising to tell him everything and then telling Vlad to go get himself checked out. His mate wanted him to be ok, and Vlad wanted to be in the best shape he could to always ensure his mate would be safe. The hug they shared before they seperated cheered him further, mood back down by the time he reached the Hospital Wing.

"You know the drill by now Vlad."

He sighed, waving a hand to vanish his shirt and laying back on the bed to let the scary matron scan and poke and prod and cast spells.

"How is it?"

"Better and worse. It doesn't hurt all the time, but it hurts more when it does. I have been training though, school doesn't tax my magic as much and we know that sets it off."

She made a disapproving clucking sound, took the exact list of what pain medication he had taken and how often from Snape and hummed disapprovingly to herself.

"I'll have to check your blood for build up. Do try to stop overdoing it Vlad, I know with your talents that's difficult."

"Harry plus bad guy, can't always avoid it. I'm trying to space the pain killers out, I don't want to end up immune to them since these are the strongest I can take."

He grimaced when she attached the vial to his arm, then used the charm to draw his blood out. Surprisingly, a lot of magic folk didn't like needles - Vlad didn't mind either way but the 'suction' feeling was a little uncomfortable. His dark blood filled the vial like any other persons, minus the crimson colour it was supposed to have - his looked almost black when it was de-oxygenated.

Done with the check, he pulled his shirt back on and waited for her to be done bustling around him, making disapproving noises. He left with an all-clear blood-wise, and another warning to watch his dosage. Gryffindor tower was mostly empty, their things already moved up by house elves and Phantom leapt on him, purring like it had been more than an hour or two since she saw him.

He understood quick enough - her toys were in his trunk.

As soon as he got them out, she was rolling on the floor smacking the light up bounce ball around. He put her food and water bowls down just in case being a pest worked up an appetite, then stretched out on his bed. It felt different, and didn't have remnants of Harry's scent from his night visits. He wasn't going to blame Hogwarts for not having Malfoy manor luxury, but the scent of mate was far more of a loss.

"Vlad? You in here?"

He hadn't realised how tense he was until Harry's voice sounded, soothing his muscles automatically. Waving his curtains aside, Harry smiled at him and Vlad felt bats fluttering in his stomach. Or was that butterflies?

"How was Lupin?"

"Uh, yeah. Animagus. Wormtail was - or is - a rat, Padfoot is Black, a dog. Prongs was my dad, he was a stag. Horrendously illegal animagi, so they came up with shady nicknames."

Harry hadn't mentioned Lupin or his 'form', so Vlad didn't bring it up - he had agreed to not outing the werewolf, he had to stick to that.

"Huh, your dad was a stag. Prongs... Yeah, I get it. Wormtail turned out pretty accurate, he is a total rat."

Harry nodded absently, sinking down on to his bed and seemingly deep in thought. Unsure if he was allowed to go over and hug Harry, Vlad tapped his fingers on his own bed, waiting. It took a few minutes, but then Harry brightened up a little.

"Animagi at fifteen, that's supposed to be impossible! Which is why I kind of want to try it. I mean, I promised Remus I wouldn't, but I want to do something that _isn't_ related to Salazar Slytherin being my great-great-great-great... and so on grandfather. This is what my dad could do."

Vlad knew very little about animagi, as vampires couldn't transform that way - they had bat and smoke forms after transforming, but that was all vampires. No magical vampire had ever been able to complete the animagus transformation. But now he had a reason to learn the mechanics at least, because Harry was going to do this anyway, and he knew it could be dangerous.

"I'm in. I mean, I can't actually gain an animagus form myself, but I'm not letting you become half Harry, half... I don't even know."

"Is that a biter thing?" Vlad nodded. "Fair enough. He said it took them three years, but they were missing two things."

"Which are?"

"You and me."

That had Vlad's heart doing some kind of crazy dance, because those words on Harry's tongue _did things_ to him. He had to focus on something else, and quick.

"Dobby!"

Harry looked a little confused, especially when said Malfoy elf appeared in their dormitory.

"Yes Master Vlad?"

"Does the Malfoy library have any books on animagus transformation?"

"Dobby will check for young masters!"

The elf popped out again, and Harry only had time to look at Vlad in confusion before Dobby was back with a teetering stack of books three times the elves height.

"There are more Master Vlad, Dobby can-"

"No no, this should do for now. If I need more, I'll call you Dobby. Thank you."

Dobby nodded so vigorously his enormous ears waved like bat wings, then popped off again leaving behind the stack of brightly coloured books. Harry stood up and the towering reading material almost reached his neck.

"Ok, that's pretty cool. If not way too many books."

"Yeah, Draco gave me access to the library through Dobby. No way the school library has this sort of material. My guess is Sirius Black had access to a similar sort of treasure trove of information, if his family was an ancient pureblood line."

Harry inclined his head in thought, and Vlad scanned through the book titles quickly.

"Here. You read this and I'll have a flick through these. No trying anything before you've read it."

Harry looked down at _Risks and Rewards: Animagus Pros and Cons_ with a sigh, but then eyed Vlad's pile and realised he was getting off lightly. Still, he made a token complaint.

"I hate reading."

"Mhmm. I didn't take a killing curse for you to die trying to turn yourself into a cat."

He hadn't meant to say that, and Harry froze solid for a good minute.

"Harry, I didn't mean it that-"

"Glamour the covers? I shouldn't show off that I'm reading it."

Vlad sighed but waved a hand, watching the cover change to appear as _1002 Herbs and Fungi: The Sequel_ and his own pile was stashed into the magically expanded and locked bedside cabinet. He kept one out and charmed it to look like it was written in Latin - enough to keep most away easily from _Finding Your Animal: An In Depth Guide._

He wasn't intending to read _every_ book cover to cover, but he wasn't going to let Harry try this until he was sure he knew what would happen, and what could go wrong. He stared unseeingly at the page for about five minutes before giving up and going over to Harry. He offered resistance, but Vlad persevered and took Harry's hand loosely.

"I didn't mean it that way. Given the choice I would do it again. You're my best friend, I just want to keep you safe ok?"

"Ok. I'll read the book. Cover to cover, channelling you and Hermione the whole time. Promise."

Harry offered him a smile as their hands separated, and Vlad felt better immediately. The world made far more sense when Harry wasn't upset with him. He went back to his own bed and flicked through the book, finding a how-to instruction list a few chapters in. He made notes on the steps to compare against the other books, ensuring they were consistent before he let Harry ingest questionable potions or use spells they had never encountered.

"Vladimir?"

What was Professor Snape's voice doing in the Gryffindor dormitories?

"Yeah? Come in, just me and Harry."

He looked _very_ uncomfortable surrounded by the red and gold decor, but gamely entered the room anyway.

"You will accompany me to check names off the list when the students return in the morning."

"I will?"

He was utterly at a loss, until he realised why specifically him.

"Oh. You want to know if any have been... marked."

"Correct. However, it will be publicly conveyed to others as a punishment. I'll create a reason why by morning. Be at my quarters immediately after breakfast. Harry, you stay behind. Or visit Professor Lupin. Either way, away from the crowd."

Vlad did not like the idea of leaving Harry spending _more_ time with a werewolf, but he agreed that knowing if any students were strolling into Hogwarts with new 'tattoos' - they were, he grudgingly told himself, a known risk to his mate.

"I'll be there Professor. And obviously, tell nobody. We know that by now."

Snape nodded severely, then swept off in a cloud of black robes. He occasionally wondered what Bertrand saw in him, then remembered there was a depth to the man - he cared deeply for Draco, and even Harry. Vlad wasn't inordinately close with the man himself, but he also envisioned there being future tension if it came out that he knew about Ingrid and Bertrand being 'linked'. Because it would come out, he knew. If Bertrand didn't already, that 'pull' would kick in eventually, or Ingrid would tell him - she was far, _far_ more forward than Vlad.

Then he looked over at Harry, who was staring at the spot Snape had been standing on like he had dreamed the whole thing. He had no place to judge, he was a coward who refused to risk losing his best friend. If he couldn't _have_ Harry, he could still have him in his life. That would have to be enough. And Harry _trusted_ Vlad, trusted him to keep him safe, trusted him not to hurt him. Vlad could live with that.

"I forgot you can feel them. Do you really think Riddle is stupid enough to mark students?"

"Snape does. And he's met the madman. So I'm going to go. At the very least it'll be a list of people to avoid, especially you now you have that map."

"I guess. Someone has gotta design a ward, a spell that detects them and you could put it up anywhere."

"Might make life difficult for some."

Harry made a sound of agreement, realising who Vlad meant and stuck his face back behind his book. Draco returned an hour or so later, though Vlad had zero idea what had delayed him he enjoyed the quiet, companionable silence reading with Harry all the same.

"You guys know you missed dinner?"

Ah. That was the delay.

"Didn't realise. I'm ashamed to admit I'm in the habit of being called for meals. Alas, I still have half our Christmas snacks in my bag. Here."

Draco caught the box of gingerbread, and Harry grinned when Vlad floated over a tub of Christmas cookies and a few bottles of butterbeer - Malfoy Manor had it in seemingly never-ending supply so Vlad had stashed some for just such an emergency.

Vlad chewed on some honeycomb chocolate, keeping eyes on his book while the other two chatted absently. If anyone asked, Vlad had spent the holidays at home but returned early, Draco had obviously been at Malfoy Manor and Harry had been in a secure location he couldn't discuss. Some would suspect Harry had spent the holidays with his friends, but there was no proof and that's what counted.

Harry sleeping in the same room was better he supposed, but Vlad was acutely aware Harry was far less likely to seek his comfort in a shared dorm, and Hogwarts didn't have the whole safe and secluded feel Malfoy Manor had. Many would argue Hogwarts was safer with Albus Dumbledore present, but after Quirrelmort, Samael being controlled by teen Riddle the horcrux and then Pettigrew literally kidnapping Harry, Vlad questioned that immensely.

Nor did he especially trust Dumbledore - he knowingly sent students home to bad households and made no effort to help - Harry and the Dursleys, Draco and his parents just to name two. Hell, Vlad had tracked down Voldemort and rescued Harry from near death before the old man had noticed anything going on. Maybe the headmaster had power, that was clear, but he wasn't doing everything possible to keep his students safe, and Vlad thought that was a pretty big miss on his part.

A fitful, unsettled nights sleep later, Vlad and Harry descended to the near-empty Great Hall. All the teachers were back, but only a handful of students stayed for Christmas - believing about Voldemort or not, many didn't dare risk their kids he supposed.

Porridge and pumpkin juice later, Vlad - with the knowledge Harry had the Map and his Cloak on him - headed down to Snape's quarters.

"What am I in trouble for?"

"Attitude. Nobody who knows you will believe you failed in an academic sense, and you're surprisingly good at covering your rule breaking tracks. So I am punishing you for your cheek. Are you able to 'do your thing'?"

Snape visibly cringed as he said it, abhorring using slang terms. His chest wasn't hurting and this was to keep Harry safe.

"Sure. Just give me your arm, and a minute. That many kids, I want a fresh 'feel' for it."

They were both uncomfortable, but he did roll up his sleeve and hold out the marked arm. It was like sensing blood types, it wasn't automatic but obvious when he focused.

"Thanks. I'm good to go."

Occasionally, in the very rare instances it was only the two of them, he wondered if Snape already knew. He knew about mates, that much was clear after dealing with Vlad. But unless he _kne_ _w_ that he knew, Vlad couldn't even hint at it. They stayed silent on the walk down to the gate, waiting for the thestral drawn carriages. He could tell by the way Snape eyed their movements that he could see them too, but if he had been alive for the war, seeing death may have been a common occurrence.

There were several complaints as they had to check off the names of every student. Vlad understood to an extent - it was cold out - but between Severus Snape's presence, amusement at Vlad being landed with punishment before term had even started, and the words "new security measures", they got there in the end.

In total, six students had returned that set off Vlad's 'sense' of the dark mark. Bold of Riddle, sending so many back. Only two were Slytherin students, and despite everything Vlad felt a little surprised by that, more so by one Gryffindor, one Hufflepuff and two Ravenclaw students. He had at least one in every house.

The Gryffindor seventh year girl was the biggest concern - she had unlimited access to the tower Harry slept in. The Hufflepuff was a sixth year, both Slytherins only fifth and the Ravenclaws seventh years. Vlad wasn't totally sure they hadn't been marked before - he hadn't been looking. Though Riddle had only been back a matter of weeks in reality, so he was clearly working the recruitment drive.

"I recognise these surnames, old followers. I don't recognise those, though having conversed with the student, I don't find myself surprised. You're certain?"

"They had the same feeling you do. That's why I just spent an hour and a half in the snow getting laughed at by my classmates, so we could do each student one by one."

Vlad clutched his drink, numb fingers slowly thawing. He couldn't wear gloves and cross names off the list, so he was a little uncharitable towards the uncertainty facing him from Snape. He had dry, warm clothes on again at least, but was still waiting on his hands warming up. A rare moment of "bring on my transformation" hit him then - he wouldn't get cold when he had the body temperature of a corpse.

He didn't want the fangs and bloodlust and everything else, but at least winter would hurt less. Silver lining. And it had let him survive saving Harry from a killing curse. Another silver lining. Maybe his fangs would be put to good use some day... like tearing Riddle's throat out. Realising he was slipping into vampiric daydreaming, he returned his attention to the matter at hand.

There was a brief debate of whether to tell Dumbledore - Vlad voted no, unless Snape was certain they would be expelled instantly, which he wasn't. In which case, he decided they had nothing to gain from telling him. Feeling finally returned to his fingers, Vlad drank the cooling tea and sighed to himself. Of all people, his mate _would_ be an unbelievably attractive magnet for trouble. Pouring some more tea while the professor mumbled to himself, he rubbed at the bridge of his nose and pondered the situation.

"So... body munchers at Hogwarts. Awesome start to the new year."

-YDHP-

 **Every year seems to grow longer - I would really struggle to end this by twenty five chapters, so I guess I'm going to aim for thirty for year three. Then year four... Oh, year four. I eagerly anticipate that year greatly.**


	24. Romantic Misadventure

**Considerably shorter authors note... hi.**

 **Also, I'm so mean to Vlad in this chapter. Like. More than usual. He's going to jab me in the eye with a wand then curse me for all eternity, I'm sure.**

-YDHP-

"Six? Really?"

"Yep. Here's the list, and I've put the colour-stain charms back on your trunk and bed, in case the Gryffindor comes in here."

Harry took the list of names, looking mildly wary as he scanned it, then searched for their names on the Map - Vlad included their houses, and apparently all of them were in their assigned common rooms. Ingrid had a copy too, to keep an eye on the Slytherins, but Vlad had been told in no uncertain terms that the knowledge was not to to further. In other words - "stay quiet".

They couldn't let on that Vlad could sense dark marks, they didn't want to risk either Dracula coming to the attention of Voldemort - especially with Ingrid in Slytherin, would be seen as an easy convert - or make the Marked students edgy.

"Right. Anyway, we should get going. I'm hungry and it's Quidditch Practice after breakfast, the 'puffs had it this morning. Wood was not happy."

"Yeah, I've noticed Wood loves a morning fly."

Vlad sighed to himself as he followed Harry to breakfast, noting the half-asleep students in canary yellow robes at the Hufflepuff table - the Quidditch team.

"I still owe them a serious beating after the dementor incident."

"Yeah. Their captain was a good guy about it though, he wanted a rematch."

Harry nodded, eyeing their bulky captain Cedric Diggory. Objectively, Vlad considered him conventionally attractive - he had the trademark floppy hair and friendly smile that set most girls around him swooning, and he was constantly making people laugh. Then there was the whole muscular, tall, grey eyes thing that made him a little stand-out, and his parents worked at the Ministry - he had overhead Mr Weasley mention Mr Diggory. He was a fifth year, like Ingrid, and apparently "not the dumbest of his house". A high compliment from Ingrid.

But he wasn't _Harry._

"Looks like the other Hufflepuff players didn't think much of morning practice either. Especially in bright yellow first thing."

His mate chuckled, setting in to his breakfast with gusto. Vlad noted he was back on the meat eating again, he seemed to vary between copious amounts of sugar - blueberry jam on everything - and copious amounts of meat - he was currently eating toast sandwhiches crammed with bacon, sausage and _black pudding._

He barely stopped himself from saying "you're lucky I love you" aloud, because black pudding was disgusting but Harry's meaty diet had only kicked in after Samael bit him - Vlad couldn't blame his mate for the basilisks actions. That didn't mean he had to enjoy the sight, focusing intently on his scrambled eggs and hot sauce. Harry didn't understand his love for spicy food either, but Vlad couldn't get enough lately - he had two and a half years before food wouldn't taste right, and the spicier the better.

"Are you done making us all nauseous Harry? Only, Wood will be waiting."

Fred and George, half asleep in their coffees, prompted Harry, who nodded and swallowed the last of his sandwich.

"Vlad puts chilli on his eggs and George jr there... let's not go there. Leave my food alone, let's go."

Vlad sat in the stands, joined by Hermione and the first years. They moved to the front row, and he and Hermione moved back a row or two so they wouldn't be overheard as they talked.

"Animagus? Really?"

"Yeah. Harry wants to do something his dad could do, which I don't really blame him for. I can't do it myself, but I'm gonna learn everything to keep him safe at least."

Hermione knew about his deep-seated bond to Harry, which was freeing in it's limitless potential during conversation because hiding it was exhausting. She took the flask of tea Vlad handed her, warming her hands and sipping at it daintily while he stared longingly up at Harry, the pure joy flying gave him enough to make Vlad feel light inside.

"I'm in. This is the ultimate test of academic over to practical, and I love a challenge."

"You can't tell him though, Draco I mean. Harry doesn't want anyone to know. I realise that's unfair to you, you two have only just started dating and I'm already asking you to keep secrets."

She sat quietly a few minutes more, smiling fondly at the cheering eleven year olds bouncing with excitement as they watched the team and reserves fly.

"I get it. He has so few things nobody knows, his life is a public feast for all. I'm still in, though I reserve bragging rights to my dear idiot boyfriend when I succeed. I won't tell him Harry did too though."

Vlad couldn't help laughing as she lit up just _talking_ about Draco, it was both sweet and horribly, gut-ache-jealousy inspiring.

"Fair enough. I'll pass on a couple of the books to you, they are technically from the Malfoy library so I can't ask you to lie... just, don't volunteer the information unless he asks? And even then, let him assume you and I are reading for fun. I do that. So do you."

She sighed, but agreed eventually and they lightly joked about potential 'forms'. Hermione theorised Harry may well have a serpent form, though as he watched his mate zip about the air like it was natural, he leant more towards an avian form.

"His patronus is a phoenix, did you know that?"

"I didn't know he had mastered the charm yet, no. But it's impossible for an animagus form to be a magical creature, the point is to blend in."

Vlad did already know that, but his mate was remarkable in so many ways, he wouldn't be all that surprised to find him breaking yet another rule. Either way, they could only continue on and see what happened.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you were a cat or something, all wise and sneaky."

"Sneaky?"

Hermione swatted his arm, laughing as she did it but playing at being annoyed. They spent the rest of practice quietly watching the flying - Draco was a reserve, so he didn't _have_ to go to practice, and Harry was still using his Firebolt until he actually ordered a new one, but he was hovering on his old Nimbus 2001 by the goals to watch Wood.

Practice ended just as lunch began, but only because the Weasley twins threatened to beat their captain with their bats if he tried to make them practice through meals again, which George and Bella were in fits of laughter over. Matthew continued pestering them all about Quidditch again, and Vlad had bets that he would be front of the line for try outs the next year, when he was old enough.

"The way you hit those bludgers was awesome!"

The twins were happy to indulge the boy, his excitement infectious to the already buoyant twosome. Hermione eyed them disapprovingly, but a look from Vlad reminded her - they broke the rules alot, even the _law,_ and in the earliest steps of what was shaping up to be a future war, Fred and George making people smile was a good thing. Especially when they also helped protect the younger students, equipping them with instant darkness powder and the joy buzzers. Ultimately, they were helping in their own way.

Vlad got a lot of his Animagus reading done while Harry and Hermione were at Healing, though she got her reading done in the evenings. Hermione was definitely 'one of the guys', she didn't really get on with the Gryffindor girls in her year, or at all really other than Ginny and the first year girls. Harry chatted to the older girls on the Quidditch team, but that was about it too.

It was similar with the boys in their dorm, while they were friends with Seamus and Dean, they just didn't understand loss or fear or the upcoming war quite the same. Neville did - he too, had lost his parents. The Weasleys had been good to Harry, aside from the bad egg, and utterly apologetic to Ingrid for his actions, even sent him away. Vlad trusted them as a whole, they had even accepted Draco. And Bertrand... mostly.

And the younger students had been victims of poor timing in the climate they aged in to Hogwarts, and they were also exactly what the future needed - accepting, open minded and motivated to break down things like house barriers. Though Vlad wished they could be kept out of it all, that may not be possible. Better they be dealing with it well, and protected as best they could. They had their necklaces protecting them at the very least, Vlad was happy to see they were all still wearing the portkey charmed jewellery.

So they had groups already, as much as he wished there weren't so many lines and boxes everyone had to be placed into.

Not a single one of the alarm charms had gone off after a month, and he had a fair certainty the Marked students were there to gather information, at least for now. And that Riddle was getting his kicks congratulating himself on sneaking his followers into Hogwarts, right under Dumbledores bespectacled nose. It's what his dad would do, cheer himself on an evil deed well done.

The biggest change so far was Harry making frequent trips to the owlery, which Hermione accompanied him to, because he had agreed to start talking to Sirius Black. Vlad hated it, but he wouldn't deny Harry conversations with people who had known his parents. There were upsides - Severus Snape didn't trust Sirius Black an inch, wouldn't let the man set foot on Malfoy grounds - Harry was safe in Hogwarts with Vlad, and out of it at Malfoy Manor. For now, that would do.

Harry _did_ show him the letters he got from Black, and it _was_ just about his parents and Hogwarts. No tempting Harry to break out of Hogwarts and go to him, no dire warnings about Vlad's pending vampirism. And it did make Harry happy, which was all Vlad really wanted.

"I hate your head of house. I abhor Transfiguration."

"You're good at it."

"I'm good at charming moronic boys, I don't enjoy it."

They were in Bertrand's quarters, Vlad, Harry, Draco and Hermione studying and Ingrid complaining - she was in her OWL year, and Ingrid hated exams. They used it because Bertrand was in his coffin, so they could spread out across the floor - sometimes they used Severus', but they were trying not to spend too much time loitering near the 'marked' professor, just in case any of the marked students tried seeking him out. Only Draco saw him regularly now outside of classes, and probably knew why - Vlad wasn't allowed to talk about it so he couldn't ask.

"Just imagine future coffins you can transfigure. Imagine transfiguring dads clothes into ballet outfits. Whatever gets you through your exams. You're the first no-blood Slytherin, you have a duty to prove you can still come top of your class."

Ingrid smirked to herself as she contemplated those very things, and undoubtedly other ways she could cause people mental trauma. Shaking his head, he went back to reading over his half-done Charms essay, glad they were done with fire and ice based charms - his latent vampire powers had interfered every time he tried to do flame charms silently lately, and they kept overpowering. Only Seamus could cause more pyro-based disasters, as Flitwick had put it.

He stuck to saying the charms, vowing to try and fix that issue later when his 'vampire' spike calmed down. It was normal for teen vampires to have random flickers of power, and as magical vampires it was tricky to know where the two intertwined inside them.

Hermione, having already completed her essays, was going through the planner for the year - Hogsmeade weekends, Quidditch matches and OWL and NEWT exams.

"It's Valentines next week. And a Hogsmeade weekend."

"Great, pink decorations and hormonal teenage boys trying to get my attention."

Ingrid scowled, but Vlad understood - there would be couples everywhere, and they were both stuck longing for impossible people. Vlad wouldn't even escape it in his dormitory, now Draco and Hermione were an item. Neither Dracula sibling wanted to celebrate this ridiculous holiday, and Ingrid wasn't yet fanged and able to celebrate the vampire equivalent "bag a breather" day.

"Are we even still _allowed_ them? I mean, with captain bad guy back it can't be safe."

"Half of the professors will be assigned as chaperones, but the staff as a whole agreed that cancelling it on such an emotionally charged day would result in serious issues."

Bertrand, who had no idea why they did so but was invited to staff meetings, provided them with information from where he was sat examining a chess board that played itself in front of him with no interaction on the vampires part.

"Did you land lover day duty?"

"No. Your head of house felt it would be utterly hilarious to insinuate I should not be outside on "bag a breather" day, though Beelzebub only knows who informed her it was called that, then after the meeting she took me to one side and implied I should spend the day convincing my cheer-lacking partner to smile. Naturally, I denied everything and escaped."

Luckily Hermione, Draco and Harry were too busy laughing and Bertrand too busy watching his automated chess board to notice the way Ingrid's hand tightened around her quill, knuckles turning white for a few seconds. Vlad could only offer her a solemn, understanding expression when their eyes met, his chest aching with the desire to spend the sappy, sentimental day with his mate, so close but so far.

"What are you doing? I've seen you play against Severus, it's terrifying to behold."

"As it transpires, the Defence professor is an excellent chess player. It's an affront to my pride to lose to a man in a cardigan, so I'm testing new moves."

Vlad suspected it offended Bertrand **far** more to lose to a _werewolf,_ but he couldn't publicise that and so he blamed the professors bizarre choice of clothing. He noted the bizarre, though minor similarity in the other vampires in the room - Ingrid _hated_ cardigans. Shaking off the thought, he scribbled down some more about cheering charms, hating the word 'cheer' every time he wrote it.

"There is one upside. The dementors have gone, so we can leave school without Vladarella here looking like someone stole his pumpkin juice."

He let it slide because he knew she was hurting, because Ingrid **knew** what the dementors made him relive, knew it was agony. Harry looked relieved at the reminder, and Vlad relaxed instantly seeing it in his eyes.

They went out for the afternoon, spring sunshine occasionally peering through for February, and Vlad and Ingrid sat together for a while. They didn't have to say it to know it was a sort of silent sharing, unworded comfort as they both had the constant reminder of Valentines day building around them.

It wasn't about being alone, Ingrid could get a 'date' by blinking, and Vlad could probably find someone to spend the day with. It was the acute pain of being without the ones their bodies, minds, souls had chosen, had decided were their perfect match. It was hard to ignore that level of _want,_ physical and emotional.

Ingrid was showing her well-hidden emotional side here, because vampires generally just told their mate or pretended it wasn't there, and didn't let the emotions form - most vampires wouldn't be sat hurting over it the way they were. Ingrid didn't hex him when he squeezed her hand gently and gave her a one-armed hug, which was basically a miracle.

Stealing one last, desperate look at where Harry was laughing at something Hermione had said, Vlad stood up and went to retrieve the closet-adrenaline-junkie Bella from the edge of the lake, because she was trying to touch the giant squid and more than one student had fallen in doing that.

"But Vlad, I was so close!"

"Yes, to drowning. Come on, away from the edge. Don't make me jelly-legs you into staying in one place."

Bella scowled, pushing her hair off her face and dropping down heavily next to George, Matthew, Jacob and Jason on the grass.

"Spoil sport."

"You say that like I ruined your ultimate plan of being eaten by a huge suction beast in a lake."

"Exactly!"

Rubbing at his head in confusion, Vlad chuckled as Bella continued scowling and went back to his friends, though the first years joined them shortly to chatter - Vlad sighed inwardly - about upcoming Valentines day.

"We have Hogsmeade weekend, so you guys will be able to run amok at school. You know the drill - wreak havoc, but don't go wandering alone?"

"Obviously. Do they really sell quills you can eat?"

"Yep, sugar quills. I'll bring you some back when I'm buying my weight in candy because I'm alone on Valentine's."

George beamed, so full of a pure sort of joy all the time Vlad couldn't understand it. She also sort of reminded him of Ingrid, in that she had a set of identical twins who seemed attuned to following her around, though Jacob and Jason were much less of the "lying prone on the floor declaring love" type, more quiet conversation but genuine laughter and jokes.

"So, how is the whole destroying house barriers going for you guys?"

Harry asked them, and they all insisted they did their best to befriend everyone in their classes. Vlad was too busy twisting at the reminder - granted, his own - of not being with Harry on the day of 'love'. His scar started to twinge, and he knew it wouldn't be long before the pain started to ramp up. His only consoling thought was Harry didn't have a date either, so he would probably still spend the day with Vlad. He had to learn to live with 'just enough'.

* * *

Valentines Day. It sounded so bizarrely... _mundane,_ when Harry was studying to become an illegal animagus, worrying about his psychotic madman of a grandfather, avoiding body-chewers at Hogwarts and just generally keeping on top of school work.

He had finished the book Vlad 'set' him, and showed the list he had made of risks that might happen. It hadn't made him any less determined, maybe even more so, but he appreciated Vlad doing the lions share of reading to narrow down what Harry needed to know, and not letting him just go in headfirst - Harry did have a bad tendency to do that.

Sirius Black had even more stories about his dad than Remus, because he had spent whole summers at the Potter home avoiding his family, and Harry avidly absorbed every detail of the stories. Pranking his _other_ grandparents, James and Sirius agreeing to join Auror training together (his mother had been intending to become a Healer, but then she discovered she was pregnant), and just general day to day life.

Like how James was a hurricane of energy, and flirted with Sirius jokingly as much as he had Lily seriously. How it had been clear since they were twelve James had been head over heels for Lily, but she found him a bit of an arrogant idiot until sixth year was nearly over, when he set himself straight for 'multiple reasons' (Sirius hadn't shared what they were yet) and Lily saw him anew. They were Head Boy and Head Girl, and engaged before their seventh year was over.

That all made Valentines seem infinitely more depressing, because Harry longed for someone who saw him for him, not for the scar or the boy who lived. He wanted something like his mother and father, a girl who he could win the war for and have all the daft, funny experiences of dating as teenagers. Harry knew it was likely over-romanticising dating to expect that instantly, but he also knew he wanted a real, proper relationship in the future. Not the illicit fumble between muggle and madman that created his mother and cost the Evans' their lives.

Harry bit savagely into his bacon and black pudding pile, knowing Vlad was cringing nearby but then again, George was currently dipping her toast in strawberry yoghurt and smiling happily as everyone gave her sidelong looks of "what in Merlin's name is that?". He craved meat more and more lately, and after several mornings umm-ing and ahh-ing, he finally caved to the curiosity of black pudding. He had since discovered his new favourite food.

He didn't like the toast aspect of his sandwich much, but it stopped everyone having to _see_ what he was actually eating, which he thought was only fair - Harry could easily do without the visual of Crabbe and Goyle across the Hall, cramming so much food into their mouths it was a wonder they could chew.

As Valentines drew nearer, the tension in the school rose as people scrambled for 'dates' or planned elaborate schemes to win over their crushes. Vlad and Ingrid spent a lot of time together, and Harry wondered if Ingrid actually wanted someone but for whatever reason couldn't act on it. He doubted Vlad had eyes on anyone - surely Harry of all people would know about that.

"Uh, Harry?"

He recognised the girl speaking his name - Susan Bones, a Hufflepuff in his year. They had spoken a few times in Herbology and Healing, she seemed perfectly friendly.

"Hey. Susan, right?"

"Yeah. I uh, I wondered if you were going to Hogsmeade with anyone?"

"Well, Vlad. Why?"

"Oh, I didn't realise you two were..."

Harry realised his reply had been taken the wrong way entirely, hastening to correct her.

"Oh! No! Not like that, I mean, we're just friends. I'm not... Wait. Are you asking me to go with you? Like, _with_ you?"

He realised he was babbling, rambling in his nerves. Susan actually laughed at him, but nodded, the smile reaching her eyes easily and she tucked a few stray auburn hairs behind her ear.

"Um, yes. That was the plan. I think. Won't Vlad mind if you ditch him now?"

He realised she was teasing him, and Harry shook his head.

"I'm sure he will understand he's not a girl. Is that a yes, we are going together? Wait, how did you turn this around to me asking you?"

"Ravenclaws aren't the only smart ones. I'll meet you by the gates?"

"Yeah. Great. See you then."

Susan flushed prettily, then turned and went back to her friends nearby who were clearly talking about how that conversation had just gone. If Harry wasn't mistaken, he had a _date._ Now he had to tell Vlad, because it wasn't fair to just expect him to be ok with Harry ditching him that day. He could join the other non-dating boys, Harry was sure.

He continued on over to the owlery, having this bizarre urge to scrawl "I have a date!" on the message to Sirius, but that would be more than a little premature. And Sirius was still mostly just the guy on the run from the law who happened to have known James and Lily Potter. Parchment successfully attached and owl successfully dispatched, Harry paced down the steps from the owl tower. He bumped into Dean and Seamus, quickly quizzing them.

"Have you seen Vlad?"

"You mean you two **aren't** telepathically linked to be able to find each other all the time? Yeah, he's by Hagrids hut with the first years."

Rolling his eyes at the Irish boys sarcasm, Harry was again left wondering if he and Vlad were _too_ close to everyone elses eyes. A lot of people made those sort of comments now. It was a fleeting concern, because he remembered most friends hadn't had multiple life or death situations, which probably would make a difference to how they were with each other. So long as he and Vlad knew they were just best friends, that's what counted.

Sure enough, Vlad was sat in the grass showing George, Matthew and the Jones twins how to handle flobberworms without getting slime on their hands, but also how to extract it neatly - it was a favourite detention of Severus' and they could probably do with the practice. Harry gestured for Vlad to come over a second, and the boy vampire carefully placed the worm down, wiped his hands on a piece of cloth and headed over to Harry with a questioning look in his eyes.

"What's up?"

"I only got asked today so I couldn't tell you before. I uh, kind of have a date for Saturday. Sorry, I know we kind of had plans."

"No, no, its fine. Uh, who is- mmph!"

Vlad clutched his chest, and Harry saw him bite his lip to muffle the pained sounds he knew he would make. They were in public, he couldn't publicly complain about soreness in a survived killing curse without raising many, _many_ questions. It seemed a little redundant, but he asked anyway.

"Is it your scar? Damn, that still feels weird to ask."

Vlad nodded, drawing in deep breaths and slowly straightening back up. The pain was still evident in the taut lines of his neck, hard line of his shoulders but Harry knew what he was looking for, most would likely think he looked tired at most.

"I thought it was healing."

"It is. Doesn't" Vlad stopped to release a tiny whimper, lips clamped together to hold it back "doesn't hurt as often as it used to. I'm uh, out of painkillers, can you make sure they don't accidentally kill the worms?"

Harry nodded, waving his friend off to find some relief from the aches and pains he suffered as a result of saving Harry's life. It was the least he could do, clinging to that thought when he accidentally touched the slime gland on the flobberworm and got several handfuls worth of sticky, unpleasant smelling goop.

"Well, don't say I never give you anything."

Harry laughed to the first years when they had bottled up the mucus for their potion kits, and everyone had washed their hands in Hagrid's cavernous sink. He was buoyant the whole day regardless, especially when Susan caught his eye across the Hall over dinner and he saw her apple cheeks tinge pink.

Vlad was quiet all day, but Harry knew that painkillers didn't always work to totally erase his pain. And maybe he felt a _little_ abandoned when Harry suddenly got a date, they were rarely apart but for classes, Vlad's tutoring and Harry's mornings with Remus. Harry was sure he would get over it, he could see their other friends for the day. Hell, he could spend the day buffering between Ingrid and her adoring fans. He didn't ask, because it didn't seem fair somehow, like asking Vlad what his plans were _now_ would sort of rub in his face that he had none.

Valentine's was technically the Friday, and with Jacob and Jason periodically sitting together at the Gryffindor table, Harry thought it wouldn't raise many eyebrows, though plenty of gossip, if he asked Susan to join him the next day - providing their 'date' went well of course.

He saw Vlad talking to the Weasley twins, taking a list and a money pouch from them that evening. When he asked as they brushed their teeth that evening, Vlad explained shortly.

"They agreed to stay behind, keep an eye on the lower years. Since half the professors will be out with the Hogsmeade trip. My side of it was to do their... shopping. Since you know, I have a lot of free time tomorrow now."

His tone was completely cordial, friendly, but Harry still felt like it was a bit of a dig. Vlad rinsed his mouth, dropped his toothbrush back in its holder and went to his bed in otherwise total silence. Definitely not thrilled about it. If Harry weren't totally certain Vlad wouldn't be able to hide it, he would worry Vlad was _jealous._

He was ninety nine percent certain Vlad was gay, even if he hadn't totally accepted it himself, but they were just friends. Close friends, but that made him more certain it wasn't jealousy that motivated him - Vlad couldn't possibly be hiding feelings for **Harry.** He just didn't like being dropped. Understandable.

Plus Vlad was a wary person, and they were about to leave the safety of Hogwarts' wards. Made sense the boy would be a bit on edge. Only Draco and Harry lingered in the dorm that morning, mocking each other mercilessly as they dressed for their 'dates'. Harry wavered between a shirt or t-shirt, formal or casual. Lily was laughing behind him, and Harry was resolutely ignoring the jeering hisses.

"Wear that black t-shirt. The one with the green detailing on, as Vlad said, it brings out your eyes."

He had said that, true. Though Harry had thought something similar when Vlad tried on a navy shirt, so he supposed it wasn't _that_ strange a comment for them. Harry pulled it on, musing that his clothes finally fit him - his appetite for meat had put a little weight on him, though he was still pretty skinny compared to most it was a start.

"Is Vlad... do you think he's... I don't know, he doesn't seem interested in girls. Seamus and Dean spend most of their time together and even _they_ talk about girls. Neville has a crush on Hannah Abbott because she talks to him about plants, but he's too shy to ask her out. Even you got a date. Vlad just sits in the corner reading."

Was it breaking Vlad's confidence to talk about this? Since Vlad hadn't confirmed anything?

"I think so. But I don't know, and I'm not going to ask. It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, he's gonna graduate Hogwarts and date vampires. He's here for education and controlling his powers, not to date humans."

"True. I hate this shirt, why did I let you talk me into buying it?"

It was grey, silky-satin looking, and tailored perfectly to fit him. It was also softening on his frame, not masculine and cut for the aristocrat look.

"Because it was the only thing in the store your dad would never have let you wear. Too 'girly' you said. If you don't like it, don't wear it. If you're wearing it, stop whining."

They had missed breakfast, but Harry's stomach was full of nerves anyway as he walked down to the gates, where Susan was actually dressed fairly casually herself, comfortable sky-blue jeans and a matching coloured jacket zipped over it. He caught Hermione looking lovely in her knee-length grey dress, though she wore black tights under and jacket over it she still looked very nice, and it was clear they were both dressing up for their first real date. It was almost too sweet - they even matched.

"A Malfoy and a Muggleborn, his parents must be blowing their tops."

Harry had forgotten that Lucius in prison and Narcissa in France (he thought) wasn't public knowledge, and merely shrugged in response.

"They are both my friends, and they are both happy. That's all that matters to me."

Susan hummed noncomittally, and he felt high as a kite not having to walk past the dementors again. It was a long walk, but a nice enough day out and Susan was easy company. They talked about school, and class and the recent incident of exploding snap cards hidden in the jugs of juice. Harry knew it had been Georgina Giles, but Gryffindor solidarity meant he could say nothing about the fountain of sticky messes at breakfast it had caused.

He spotted Vlad - alone - ducking in to Zonko's joke store, dreading him supplying the Weasley twins as much as he expected amusement from it.

"So, where do you wanna go? Last time I was with Vlad and Hermione, and we just sort of did the newbie tour of the main street."

"Well, I've been here a few times with my aunt, so the newbie stage is long gone. I want to buy a new quill, then maybe get lunch? I mean, most people will be in Madam Puddifoots, but I hate the cherubs that throw confetti in there and the coffee isn't great."

Surprisingly glad to have dodged a proper 'couple' spot, Harry followed her to the stationary store, laughing at the cage full of quills duelling each other while Susan browsed. He dropped in to Honeydukes, just because he was craving fudge.

"That's a lot of sweets."

"I share a dorm with five other boys, Hermione visits and so do the Weasley twins. We stocked up before Christmas and ran out two weeks ago."

Susan 'ahh-ed', raising an eyebrow when Harry bought blood pops (he felt Bertrand deserved a thank you for letting them study in his quarters all the time), and again when he left with a Honeydukes box of assorted chocolates as well as his bulging bag of candies.

"Your dorm must be seriously scary at times, Weasley twins and sugar highs."

Harry chuckled, pushing the things into his jackets charmed inner pocket. It was lucky he had that, because out of habit he had almost turned to use Vlad's backpack. He really was far too used to having Vlad around.

Susan knew Hogsmeade well, and they went to one of the side streets for a half-empty but mostly Valentines-free cafe. The worst being the cupcakes with heart shaped decorations on, and some charmed-pink hot cocoa available from a vat. Now the nerves were mostly gone, his stomach was growling hungrily. The cafe didn't have steaks, which Harry was craving madly right now, nor did he want to display his slightly odd appetites to Susan after she saw him buy too much chocolate.

"So, what's good here?"

She ordered a light chicken salad lunch and a slice of cake, but Harry was hungry, ordering a turkey sandwich, then a platter of chicken pieces before a huge cookie full of chocolate and nuts became his dessert. He did have the grace to eat with cutlery, whereas normally he wouldn't bother even with Vlad and Draco giving him disapproving looks. She seemed surprised as he packed away the food, but thankfully didn't comment.

Stomach full - for now - they paid and headed back out, walking along the street in a somewhat comfortable silence. Eventually ending up out on the 'scenery' spot, they sat on a bench gazing across enchanted fields full of magical plants. Hogsmeade had quite the apothecary, and they decided to turn it into a view too, though it was heavily protected to prevent theft it did look beautiful.

"Sorry, but I have to ask."

Harry turned to Susan, who was fidgeting nervously with her hair.

"Ok. Ask?"

"Is... _he_ really back?"

"Yeah. And I wouldn't have made it back to tell the tale without Vlad, same with Quirrel first year. He's my best friend, but I did mean it when I said we are just friends."

"Makes sense when you put it like that, that you're close I mean."

Glad he had clarified it, without telling her something she probably didn't already know - like the full extent of Vlad saving him.

"Yeah. He's a good guy."

They lapsed back into silence, staring out at Floating Fire-Lily light shows, and there were a few half-bloomed Blood Flowers, the ones that shone like spilled blood under moonlight and grew in a few places around the Forbidden Forest.

"Did you know the Quidditch World Cup is this year?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, my aunt Amelia, she works in Magical Law Enforcement. Saw her at Christmas, she was complaining about having to help England host the matches because it's a security nightmare."

"Six months, every four years. The final should be around summertime, I'm hoping one of our teams makes it so it's here. Local games are good, but the World Cup is just... unbeatable. I think something else is going on, but must be classified. Auntie seemed stressed but just said she couldn't talk about it."

"Well, if she is able to talk about it, you'll be the first to know."

Susan nodded, then shivered and pulled her jacket tighter.

"Cold?"

"Yeah, getting chilly."

"Let's go get a butterbeer, warm up for the walk back?"

They headed to the Three Broomsticks, chatting about the various matches Susan had been to and the teams Harry knew shockingly little about for a Quidditch enthusiast. Thankfully the Three Broomsticks wasn't gaudily decorated either, though there was a general romantic feel to the flowers arranged on tables, and Rosmerta offered them "Almost Amortentia" when they ordered drinks.

"What _is_ Amortentia?"

Susan shrugged, but someone else answered anyway.

"Most powerful love potion ever. For wizards, anyway."

"Yeah, I think muggles just use alcohol."

Harry recognised both voices that answered, turning to find Vlad and Ingrid next to him, taking a bottle of the 'AA' for Ingrid, and Vlad's usual hot pumpkin juice with cinnamon added.

"Hey Harry. Uh, Susan, yeah? We have Herbology together."

Susan nodded, and Vlad smiled politely before following his sister back to a table - Harry vaguely recognised Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini at said table, both with their house emblem scarves slung over their chairs.

"I forgot his sisters a Slytherin."

The name still gave Harry a mild chill, but he fought it off as he requested a trial bottle of the new drink, plus a large foamy flagon of butterbeer.

"Yeah, so Vlad's big on interhouse friendships. I think those boys are in Arithmancy or Runes."

"Wow. Saving you, crusading for friendships with Slytherins. Anything he doesn't do?"

"Drink butterbeer, he says it's too sweet."

The 'Almost Amortentia' was even sweeter than the buttery froth drink, fruity and warming and when he wiped his mouth, he realised it had stained his lips bright red. Susan was giggling as Harry scanned his reflection in his bottle, though thankfully it faded fast as he sipped butterbeer. Though he wasn't sure getting foam on his nose was a much better look as she continued laughing to herself.

"Going by the name, theres no actual love potion in that, right?"

"I think love potions generally give you a glazed look, and I'm not waxing poetic about anyone dopily, right?"

"True. Is it good?"

"Yeah, fruity and warm. Really sweet though."

He felt sort of melted inside with all the foamy, warm and sweet drinks in his system as they walked back, and Susan quickly agreed to sitting at the Gryffindor table for dinner with him, which Harry beamed at.

"I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall, better go unload my shopping and change into something warmer."

"Sure, see you soon."

Harry ducked into a side corridor, checking the Map before he took any secret passages now - he had promised Vlad to try and avoid getting kidnapped again. All was clear so he found the portrait, gave it the password and stole up a couple of staircases to the seventh floor. The dorm was empty save for Lily and Phantom, who were napping peacefully together on Vlad's bed. He gave them a fond smile, dumped his Honeydukes raid into his trunk and closed the lid. As the lid closed, Harry noticed something.

There was a green handprint on the trunk. His trunk. Someone had tried to go through his trunk. Vlad had rigged it with a little known alarm ward that would tell if someone had gotten in, though he checked anyway. Everything was safe, not even moved.

"Lily?"

One eye opened, glaring over at him sleepily.

"Yes?"

"Did you see who tried to open my trunk?"

"No. The furball chased them off before I got a good look."

Phantom meow-ed grumpily, but Lily seemed to understand what she said and nodded knowingly.

"The furball said it was a Marked student. Does that help?"

"Uh, yeah. Makes sense. Thanks guys, you can go back to sleep now."

Lily hissed a sort of sarcastic thanks, then resumed using Phantom as her own living, breathing heat mat to sleep on.

Harry realised he was supposed to be going back down to Susan, scanning the Map to see her pacing in a small circle around the Entrance Hall. Vlad's charms had worked to keep the intruder out, and they knew it was protected. They would also likely know Harry knew they had tried, and his bet was the Marked Gryffindor student. Vlad had also said to assume they could remove the stain somehow, but he was going to look anyway.

He traded his jacket for a comfortable jumper, sent an affectionate look at the familiars curled up together and tucked the Map back into his jeans pocket. He would take the Grand Staircase now, just in case.

Susan brightened when she saw him, and Harry caught sight of Vlad sat - rather bravely - at the Slytherin table, he and Ingrid either side of Jacob and Jason, while George was sat at Gryffindor with Bella and the Weasley twins. He hadn't noticed before, but Hogwarts was decorated for the day.

The flagstones were various shades of pink, and there were heart shaped _everything_ scattered up the tables. Neville greeted Susan cheerily when she sat next to Harry, waving at her friends from her seat under red and gold. As Harry looked around, he realised several students were mix-and-matching tables, though only the Dracula siblings and Jones twins seemed blatant enough to do the Gryffindor/Slytherin switch.

The Head table was a sight to behold, or rather, Dumbledore was. His outfit was even more lurid than usual, beard and hair a faint shade of pink and his robes a nearly painful shade of purple, a full scale of rainbow coloured hearts patterned all over. And there was a cherub perched neatly atop his hat, which Harry noticed Severus sending frequent glares at as though it had offended him personally.

Feeling buoyed by the rather successful and surprisingly un-awkward day he had had with Susan, Harry smiled as he ate a large (and obviously heart shaped) steak, though it wasn't quite as rare as he wanted it was still hearty, meat-based excellence.

His eyes flicked over to the Slytherin table again, seeing Vlad conversing with Theodore Nott. He was laughing openly about something, and Harry knew a brief flicker of something like jealousy. It wasn't jealousy, that was ridiculous. He was just surprised, Vlad was normally quiet and reserved around most people but Harry, and he didn't really _know_ Nott.

He did now understand Vlad's reticence when Harry suddenly dropped him for the date - they really were too used to each others company. They were getting older now, that would probably continue to change and this was only the beginning. Stabbing his steak with a little more venom than he intended, Harry pushed away any such thoughts. The day had him all out of sorts, that was all.

Susan smiled at him and Harry smiled back, snagging a slice of heart-shaped pizza before meal became dessert - he was ravenously hungry at every mealtime now. Washing everything down with a large chocolate strawberry sundae, he felt warm fingers lace through his. That was new, because Vlad's skin was cooler than his and he usually grabbed and squeezed around Harry's wrist.

His stomach felt a little funny for it, and he wasn't sure if it was a totally pleasant feeling or not, but Harry smiled and gripped back anyway. He had to stop comparing to Vlad... It was different, best friend and potential girlfriend. It wasn't supposed to feel similar.

-YDHP-

 **7,500 words? I think I've only written four or five things this long in over 50 published stories, and a couple hundred chapters overall.**

 **Poor Vlad. Don't worry, I laced his pumpkin juice with Cheer Potion to make him smile.**


	25. Hatching Plans

**Fangirlfriend2 - I assume you're referring to Insomnia, but Vlad doesn't need those dreams - he already _knows_ he's the Chosen One, it just hasn't been all that relevant in the magical world yet. It will be! **

**As for Ingrid burning in the sun, that doesn't actually happen until the day of her birthday, it doesn't take place before then. WRT to Magda and Zoltan... Magda has very little place in this to be honest, purely because majority-wise this takes place in the magical world, not the Young Dracula-verse. Same goes for Zoltan, he's not integral to the storyline and I don't see the point in overdoing it with characters who don't serve the story any. As for the lack of Young Dracula fanfiction? I agree! There's some over on Archive Of Our Own, but that's the only other place I know of.**

 **Vampireharry the 2 - I'm glad you enjoy!**

 **Apologies for the late update! My internet died on me for several days. Should be fixed now. I have limited expectations of the truth of the matter, but we'll see.**

-YDHP-

Three weeks after Valentines day, Harry and Susan showed no signs of stopping all the things he wished they wouldn't do in front of him. Or ever, really. Like holding hands and looking at each other and sitting next to each other at dinner (Vlad had taken to sitting at Slytherin with Ingrid and/or Theo, who would quietly talk about Arithmancy or Runes and nothing personal), and Susan had this annoying habit of kissing Harry on the cheek and winning a smile from him. Vlad would give _anything_ to be able to do that.

He would mind a whole lot less (ok, a little because he would probably mind a great deal anyway) if it weren't obvious Harry was reconsidering how physically close he and Vlad were outside of usual friendship - they still hugged, but Harry didn't fall asleep on Vlad's bed after nightmares, and always looked a little surprised whenever Vlad would grip and squeeze his wrist the way he had always done to comfort him. Now even if they did break up, Harry had changed views on how physical he should be toward Vlad, and Vlad **hated** it.

They paired up in Herbology, and Charms and then even Transfiguration. With Dean and Seamus basically two halves of one entity, and Draco and Hermione still glued at the hip, Vlad was left to pair with Neville - he didn't mind that, Neville was more than competent (mostly, he was still clumsy but Vlad didn't hold that against him), but even Neville brought up how 'cute' Harry and Susan were over the Venomous Tentacula they were trimming, and it was wearing on Vlad's nerves.

Hermione knew Vlad must be agonising, twisting, already aware of his mate problem, but she accepted Vlad saying he _really_ didn't want to talk about it, kissed his forehead and promised she would always be available should he change his mind. Most of his now very free time was spent either with Ingrid, studying in the Library or Bertrand's quarters, or with the Weasley twins and first years, who were either oblivious to romance or too busy planning pranks.

"Cheer up, it may not last?"

Vlad looked up from where he had felt safely alone, sat out in the still bitingly cold outside grounds, finding Hermione holding out a thermos he could smell contained hot chocolate and wearing a sad smile. He took it, if only to warm his numb hands that had been clutching a book. It was for show, he had re-read a paragraph six times without absorbing a word of it.

"I wish I didn't agree. I shouldn't want him to be sad about a breakup, but I'm also kind of exhausted watching them."

"Normally, I would think that was selfish, but I know you ultimately just want him to be happy."

"More than anything."

He took a long swallow of the hot chocolate, hints of mint flavour washing over his tongue and winding down his throat. He passed it back and Hermione followed suit, looking at the book he was reading - one of the animagus books.

"So, are you any closer to working out how we do this?"

"I think I've got the basic idea, yes. Harry will be thrilled, the first step is a mix of potion and meditation."

"Then what?"

"The first two things help you find your 'form'. Then you have to learn how to transform, which can be hugely difficult. Obviously. I'll need your help on this bit, the restorative draught."

Hermione scanned the list, finding 'mandrake leaves' and nodding - she understood his allergy. He wouldn't tell Harry they had the idea yet, not until they had a batch of restorative draught to put him back if something went wrong.

"Wow. So, how should we do this?"

"You could use the Chamber bathroom. It'll only take a couple of days to brew the restorative, and I think it should keep for long enough to go until summer at least. Mandrake leaves aren't easy to come by, but everything else we have in our extra Potions kits. So, you get started and I'll find the leaves?"

"I don't want to know. I'll start tomorrow, first let's make copies of the recipes?"

Vlad nodded, pulling parchment and self-inking quills from his pocket so he and Hermione could both scribble down the recipes - he had been slowly returning the books to Malfoy library to reduce the chance of getting caught with half a bookcase in his bedside table.

"I'm excited! I know this isn't going to happen overnight, and its illegal and all that, but I'm still excited."

"Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione Granger?"

Hermione beamed, squeezed him with one arm around his shoulders and bounced up, tucking the copied recipes into the inside of her coat. Vlad found her good mood infectious, at least until they spotted a couple walking around to the owlery. It could have been anyone, except that little spark in his chest that always knew when he could see his mate, even in the distance.

"She doesn't even know him. She looks at him weird when he eats loads of meat, how would she cope knowing he speaks to snakes? That he's got a pet basilisk?"

He wasn't mad - he had checked they were still way out of hearing range of anybody else before he spoke.

"I don't know Vlad. I realise I'm hardly one to talk, but it's pretty rare that the first person you ever date is the "one and only" deal. Most people don't have something ticking inside them to say that's absolutely the one. Maybe she'll accept him for who he is and what he can do. Maybe she won't. Either way, you're going to be his friend like you always have been, right?"

Hermione gave him that _look,_ the one none of them dared argue with. It usually only came out over homework, but sometimes when she was making Vlad sort his head out or telling him off for trying to put off using painkillers when his scar hurt. The only female more scary than Hermione was Ingrid, which was saying something when one was a Dracula.

"Right. So. Library? Since we now need to find a book on 'Meditation for Endless Fidgets" because Harry Potter can not sit still. Bertrand was always complaining he struggled to meditate."

She took the change in topic - Vlad's pained staring at Harry and Susan finally being broken as she stepped in front of him to break his eyeline - and nodded, grabbing his wrist and dragging him along in the direction of their school. Mr Filch glared angrily at them for coming in from outside. Vlad would have minded less if their shoes were dirty, which they weren't.

They made it to the Library quickly, folding up their cloaks into Vlad's bag and carefully hanging jacket and coat over the backs of their chairs. Vlad was already accomplished in meditation, though not as guided as this would require Harry and Hermione to achieve. There were a few books on Yoga, Chakras and the like, which Hermione swore was a good place to start.

"You two are always in here. Searching for the strangest things! What are you up to?"

Madam Pince eyed them both very suspiciously, and Vlad merely shrugged.

"Ask any of our teachers, we're the top of pretty much every class. We study a lot, and we both like extracurricular activities and reading. It's a _library._ "

Hermione stared down the librarian, who looked mildly scandalized by her words but huffed and turned to berate a first year who's ink pot was too close to the book they were copying. He flicked through the books, grimacing at some of the ideas about life and death that wouldn't apply to him, and certain his eyes were impossibly wide at the _bizarre_ positions some of the humans twisted themselves in to. Vampires didn't do contortion, just turned into bats... Maybe he couldn't judge too much.

"Not sure anything but a powerful sedative would get Harry to actually stay still."

"Mmm. True. Still, we can say we tried."

Sharing a chuckle, they detoured to drop the thermos back to the kitchens, somehow leaving with a mountain of biscuits in spite of it being dinner only an hour or so later. If Vlad didn't know better, he would suspect the elves were trying to fatten them up.

"I'll get my spare cauldron and ingredients to the bathroom while you have Healing tomorrow, and source the leaves. It will all be waiting for you when you can get there."

"Works for me. I better find my boyfriend before he thinks we've run off together on a romantic adventure."

They were cutting through a secret passage to the seventh floor, intending to change into comfortable attire for dinner and homework later on.

"You could always tell him I'm super gay for Harry Potter."

"Well, Harry doesn't know, so no I can't."

He forgot Hermione knew the specifics, even without him telling her the minutiae. They shared a sad sort of smile, then Vlad ducked out first to check the coast was clear before he herded Hermione out, entering the common room together and his heart leapt in his chest at the sight of Harry - free of his Hufflepuff girlfriend for once. He barely even noticed the Weasley twins either side of him, taking in the sight of just Harry, which he only really got to see in Gryffindor Tower now.

"How do I look?"

Vlad didn't look up from where he was rummaging through his trunk to check his extra ingredients kit, unsure what Seamus was wearing but responding with a deadpan answer anyway.

"Like a troll in drag."

"Perfect!"

 _That_ got his attention enough, looking up to find Seamus wearing the most ridiculous ensemble. He didn't know where to start, with the lurid green and orange wig, sparkly silver shoes and _pale purple_ robes.

"Seamus. **Why** are you dressed like Dumbledores wardrobe threw up on you?"

"Ingrid told me to. Said I'd look awesome. I do, don't I?"

Looking closer, he could see the slightly glazed look of short term hypnosis - with practice, and occasionally luck, they could pull it off without leaving a trace, but Vlad expected she had done this to Seamus for a passing moments amusement, rather than any serious intent.

"If you say so. Might want to rethink the earrings. "

He had what looked like butterbeer corks dangling from his ears. Vlad didn't think he had his ears pierced before, hoping the jewellery was clip on and Ingrid hadn't actually convinced the poor boy to ram sharp implements through each ear lobe. Shaking his head, and satisfied he had everything but mandrake leaves for the potion, he _had_ to see how this turned out.

Waiting a half-minute to follow Seamus down, half the common room was in hysterics, the rest either aghast or perplexed by Seamus parading around in that monstrosity of an outfit.

"Did you put him up to that, Dracula?"

"Nope. I found him like this, I swear!"

"He told me I look like a troll in drag. Isn't that nice?"

Seamus floated on, several of the Gryffindor students either noting it was nearly dinner time, or dying to watch Seamus enter the Great Hall dressed like that following. There was a general hum of conversation already in the barely half full hall, but it stopped dead silent as everyone noticed the hideous brightness.

Completely oblivious thanks to the wonders of hypnotism, Seamus sat down and began serving himself dinner. Vlad was beginning to wonder where Dean Thomas was in all this, and suddenly regretted wondering such a thing when the boy came bouncing in to the dining hall. Wearing a tutu, pink socks and gloves, even delicate little ballet shoes and a bright pink headband.

Ingrid must have been _really_ bored.

He too sat down like nothing was amiss, politely asking someone to pass the potatoes while the majority of the professors eyed the Gryffindor table in bemused exasperation. They probably wouldn't have bat an eyelid if it had been Fred and George dressed so oddly, but it was a little more unexpected from Seamus and Dean he supposed.

Unable to stop himself from chuckling lightly throughout the meal, especially when Dean complimented Seamus' wig and Seamus complimented Dean's shoes, Vlad took pity on them by the time it was pudding and snapped his fingers, careful to make it look absentminded by doing it a few times and looking deep in thought about absolutely nothing.

"Seamus mate, what are you wearing?"

"You're one to talk! Is that _glitter_ on your skirt?"

The two realised the things they both had on, jumping up and running out of the Great Hall. Which meant Vlad no longer had any distraction from Harry and Susan sat together, feeling his stomach turn and pushing away the treacle tart in front of him before he vomited on it. As soon as it was less suspicious, he left too.

Seamus and Dean were both back in normal clothes and muttering to themselves about how they didn't remember getting into those clothes - more evidence of hypnosis - when Vlad got to the dorm, his charmed journal going off a few minutes later.

" _Spoil sport_."

" _Their reactions were the best part!_ "

It took several minutes for Ingrid to compose a reply, during which time Vlad managed to cheer his friends up with an obscene amount of biscuits to make up for their missing pudding at dinner. He was buried in Arithmancy homework when Draco, Harry and Neville made it back to the dorm, snickering at the two boys Ingrid had tormented but falling silent at a glare.

"Merlin, I haven't even started my Defence essay!"

"Seriously? We got it Monday, you literally have until tomorrow morning to write twelve inches of parchment on how to detect bitten werewolves outside of the full moon, with emphasis on the difference between them and born werewolves."

Seamus scrambled for his books, spreading out across half the floor in his panic. That was one of those essays Vlad was sure he could have done with his eyes closed, having grown up knowing about all the things in the dark most children were taught to fear, and he was taught to revere. Except werewolves. His dad hated werewolves. Unsurprising, given their mother leaving him for one he supposed, but he really hoped his dad never heard Vlad had one for a teacher. He would probably burn down Hogwarts on principle.

Armed with two pairs of dragonskin gloves, Vlad swallowed thickly as he trudged down to the Herbology greenhouse during his free period. Professor Sprout was free this period too - Vlad had checked in advance, thanks to Bertrand's handy access to a teachers timetable - and smiled warmly at him as he peered into the greenhouse she was tending to a Snappodil in.

The large yellow petals looked perfectly harmless, until one got too close and then tiny razorsharp teeth descended, and it closed up tight with a loud 'snap!' motion. They grew wild commonly in any magical garden, and could cause nasty injuries if one didn't know how to be careful - hence their place on the Hogwarts syllabus.

"And what can I do for you, young Vladimir?"

He felt tremendously guilty for what he was about to do, because Professor Sprout had barely even acknowledged his vampirism other than to always conveniently assign him somewhere safe when they were growing Mandrakes or learning about Transylvanian Wolfsbane - something else he was allergic to. Still, when it came to keeping Harry safe, Vlad could endure any crisis of conscience.

"I need Mandrake leaves. For a... salad."

Focused more on his hypnosis holding than what he was offering as reasoning, Vlad sagged internally with relief when she smiled indulgently, nodded and led him to the store room. Even through both sets of gloves, his skin _knew_ these leaves were toxic to him and prickled unhappily. Transferring them to a bag, then shoving them inside his robes quickly, Vlad added a "remember nothing" to his hypnosis, then clicked his fingers.

"Ah, Vladimir! What can I do for you my boy?"

Again relieved she had forgotten, Vlad thought on his feet quickly

"Oh, I came to ask for the list of Sixth Year Herbology studies? Ingrid asked me to find out if she's absolutely going to have to drop the subject, because she doesn't like 'research' as much as me."

"I see. Follow me."

Already itching to get out of her humid, allergen-ridden store room, Vlad followed the squat woman happily to the office hidden behind a glass door covered in overgrown vines.

"Ah. Here it is, the standard Sixth Year plant list. Here you are, you may as well take the Fourth Year one too, find out if you'll have any troubles yourself next year, as you seem to be able to find out better even than me. Don't be sharing that with the other students mind you, it wouldn't be seemly for me to offer preferential treatment."

"Of course. Thank you Professor."

He scrambled out of the greenhouse as fast as he could without his behavior seeming suspect. It was lucky Ingrid did want to continue Herbology next year - she was into Potions, it made sense even if she abhorred getting her perfectly filed and polished nails the slightest bit dirty. A cursory inspection didn't throw up any serious red flags, but he would have to investigate each one anyway, especially as Sprout would want to know whether he had found anything.

Like he didn't have _enough_ to do already.

* * *

Dating was... strange. Susan seemed to vary between hanging on his every word and talking over him, and kissed his cheek so frequently he wondered if she was doing some kind of invisible 'girl territory' marking he wasn't privy to. He smiled when she did it, because it was sweet and made his stomach feel kind of funny, though he still wasn't sure it was a pleasant feeling he imagined it was what other people called "butterflies", which were apparently a good thing.

He was nervous quite a lot of the time too - Susan always apologised for the slight, but anti-Slytherin comments still slipped through. Harry found himself shredding napkins into tiny pieces beneath the table whenever she had brought it up, standing to dislodge a confetti of wasted paper from his knees. Was it madness to expect her to accept who he was, _what_ he was.

True heir of Slytherin. Powered by Basilisk venom. Controller of said basilisk. Parselmouth.

It irked him that he thought it, but he wished being with her was as easy as being around Vlad. Virtually nothing shook the boy vampire. But he knew they were two very different things, different people. Vlad wasn't his girlfriend, and Susan wasn't his best friend.

Which is why he had been making the effort to stop blurring the lines so much, not wanting anyone else to wonder whether he and Vlad were just friends. Vlad didn't really seem to react much either way, other than to look hurt for the milliseconds it took before the guard in his eyes came down, whenever Harry realised just how physically, casually familiar they were. In a way they weren't with anyone else.

It was different to how Vlad was with Ingrid, Fred and George with Ginny, even how he and Draco were, with their brother-level friendship - the two were very much close, but there was something different with Vlad. Infinitesimal, but different. It was probably the multitude of near death experiences they had shared, or the fact neither were _entirely_ human. Or that Vlad understood what it was like to be "different", accepted Harry without reservation no matter what.

It made his head spin, so he stopped thinking about it. And started taking dreamless sleep more often, to lessen the likelihood he would seek Vlad in the night. It worked overall - he certainly hadn't crawled into Vlad's bed all sweaty and scared since before Valentines day.

Lily was annoyed with him too - he hadn't dared risk carrying her about with him since Valentines day, when he normally took her out to enjoy the myriad of scents of Hogwarts at least one day a week. Susan didn't know he was a Parselmouth, and if Lily popped her snout out of the special carry bag (she still fit in his pocket, but only just now as she grew), he probably wouldn't be able to stop himself slipping into hisses.

"Wizard, why do you waste much time with the witch?"

"Susan is my _girlfriend_ Lily, that's how it works."

"Surely I and the curly females should be plentiful company. On top of which, the female snake is your companion too, is she not?"

"Ingrid? Yeah, we're friends, but that's different to a girlfriend. You're still my favourite girl Lily."

She turned her scaly head away, but he caught the satisfied hiss when he rubbed his finger over the green stripe at the top of her head.

"Does she fear reptiles? Or are you disenchanted with the idea of revealing you can converse with our species?"

He couldn't lie to Lily, not when she looked at him like _that,_ beady and knowing. Besides, who could she tell? He was the only parselmouth since Riddle. She could tell Phantom, he supposed, but she couldn't tell anyone either.

"She may well fear you, but yes, I'm scared. Scared that this big huge Slytherin trait inside me will put her off me."

Lily looped around his wrist, stretching completely along the length of his forearm to flick her tongue against his Basilisk-bite-scar. It was an uncomfortable reminder that he wasn't normal, even after having a heart to heart with a snake.

"What is it those breather women say in those awful books the young girls read? If she does not accept you for you, then they are the incorrect human with which to aim your affections."

"I thought you didn't care for such things as romance."

Lily looked affronted - at least as affronted as a snake could possibly look, and twisted her scaly self back to face Harry, swatting him with her tail a little bit in exasperation and affection.

"I do not. The furball is popular amongst the young ones, and complains about the drivel they read to me. However, I do have to consider myself in this equation. You must attach yourself with someone who feeds me in your absence, for example."

"You can feed yourself Lily."

"That is entirely beside the point. I could waste away while you were off galavanting with some witch who cares not for my wellbeing."

He had forgotten just how overdramatic his familiar could be, unable to suppress a fond smile as she swayed slightly, most of her balance-action tail section wrapped around his wrist. She gave him a disapproving hiss, but he knew in a roundabout way she was right. They were bonded together, Lily was _his_ and according to Hermione (who was always right), she couldn't bind to anyone else now she had picked him. If Susan couldn't deal with Lily, with Harry's tendency to hiss, he was going through much of this for no reason. Other than to **pretend** he was _normal._

"I'll try to work out how to tell her, promise. If I do introduce you to her, do you promise to be nice?"

"I am always exceptionally well behaved."

"Right. Keep your snout to yourself or you'll stay in that tank you scaly pest."

Lily made a sound that wasn't quite a word, more a grunt of annoyance, though it was softened by her winding tightly around his forearm and going to sleep. He wasn't going anywhere fast... except he did have plans with Susan.

 _Again._ His mind unhelpfully added, as though his subconscious wanted to remind him he spent nearly all his time with her, and half the time it was almost-awkward silence. She was easy to talk to, but there was a very finite amount of his life Harry could share with her, so he daren't risk initiating deep conversations. He couldn't even talk about school holiday plans anymore, as the Malfoy Manor residence he now took was supposed to be very secretive.

He felt guilty as he slowly worked Lily off his wrist, laying her in the warm spot on his bed so she wasn't suddenly bereft of his scent and body heat, though he expected her to notice he was gone regardless.

Taking off his glasses to rub at his eyes, he felt another spike of _difference_ hit him. He didn't have to wear glasses around Vlad, but the glamoured glass that no longer corrected his vision was a permanent fixture around his girlfriend. Lest his pupils elongate again.

This was ridiculous. He had to stop comparing his human girlfriend to his vampire best friend. It was like comparing... Severus and Ingrid. Polar opposites. He wasn't dating Vlad, so it was unfair to them both to compare them - Vlad had no place kissing him, and Susan hadn't known him since the Hogwarts Express, not really. Not like Vlad and Hermione had.

Growling internally, he set his mind straight, shoved his glasses back on a little too roughly and tried, in vain, to flatten his wildly messy hair.

"Thought you had stood me up for a minute."

"I'm all the way up in Gryffindor Tower. And the staircases change."

He was _lying_ through his teeth really, because he had cut through a passageway from seventh to third floor, and only walked down two floors to her, zero staircase shifting involved. Though he _was_ in Gryffindor Tower before that. That wasn't a lie.

"So, where to?"

He thought for a moment, then decided on the spot.

"Let's go down to see Hagrid. He's awesome."

Susan didn't look instantly thrilled, but she took his hand - where it had hung loosely at his side, he was never sure how to initiate such things without seeming awkward - and they headed out of the main doors to cut across the field. Spring was beginning to edge in, a bright sunset lighting up the freshly budding leaves and plants.

"Ello 'Arry!" Hagrid boomed happily from where he was sat carving what looked like half a tree branch, Fang resting dopily at his feet "an... I don' know yer. Lemme guess, this be why I haven' seen ya lately 'Arry?"

Flushing lightly, Harry nodded and felt instantly guilty again. Was he neglecting everyone?

"Hagrid. This is Susan. My girlfriend. Susan, meet Hagrid."

Hagrid offered an enormous hand to Susan, shaking hers gently but still making the majority of her upper body rattle in place.

"Go on in, I'll jus' clear this up and I'll put a pot o' tea on."

Susan was quiet, small hands wrapped around the cavernous mug of tea and trying to edge away from Fang, who was rather insistently trying to sniff her.

"Get outta th'way ya dozy dog."

Fang huffed, but spotted the frisbee sized dog treat Hagrid held out and loped over to it, flopping in his outrageously patterned dog bed (Harry suspected Dumbledore) and drooling contently over the treat. Susan relaxed a little, but Harry was a little edgy - even _Ingrid_ got on with Hagrid. Hell, even Bertrand and Severus had a tentative sort of friendship with the man - Bertrand promised not to eat his pets, and Severus happily took all the flobberworms he could get from Hagrid.

"I saw ye together on yer way to 'Ogsmeade, Valentines an' all tha'. Bin waitin' fer ye to introduce us."

Susan, suddenly shy, mumbled about being a Hufflepuff and her aunt working for the Ministry.

"Any relation ter Amelia Bones, the 'ead of Magical Law Enforcement?"

Susan nodded.

"She's my aunt. Why?"

"Think she visited me, when I were bein transferred ter Azkaban. Said it weren'... Doesn' matter. Nice lady. Fair."

Harry was avidly curious about the end of that story, but Hagrid clearly didn't want to talk about it. In front of Susan, at least. He hadn't thought of a totally different branch of conversation before the door opened, half a dozen first years practically falling through it. He recognised George, Jason and Bella from Gryffindor, fairly sure the others were Slytherin

"Hagrid! It's happening! Come quick!"

The huge man clambered up, following the group of first years out and Harry followed, eager to find out what all the fuss was about. The pre-teens were all grouped around a nest of blood-red eggs, which were ominously vibrating and emitting high pitched squeals. Having no clue what was about to hatch, Harry kept a wary distance, curiosity still making him crane his neck to see around Hagrid.

A fleshy pink appendage burst forth with a crack of eggshell as the first began to break, then all at once the whole nest shattered and revealed some rather... _grotesque_ looking things. They were all pink-ish, wrinkly and Harry could not really distinguish a head or tail end - it didn't even have eyes he could see.

"Ew. What is that?"

Susan announced herself with a sound of disgust, shying away behind Harry as the things raised themselves on shaky, insubstantial looking limbs. The first years were all cooing excitedly, pointing out various strange appearances about the things.

"Blas' ended skrew'. They won' always look like tha', these are only babies."

"See!"

He was forcibly reminded of Hermione when George shoved a book in their faces, showing a full grown blast ended skrewt. They were _monstrous_ in size, and apparently would grow to such size in under eighteen months. The adult, matured skrewt-things had armoured skin, thick and shell like and they were able to emit huge bursts of flames from their backsides. That explained the name he supposed. Even matured, they lacked many distinguishing features from front and back.

"They'll have wings! But can't really fly cus they'll be so heavy. That's pretty cool. I like thestrals better!"

"Who have you seen die?"

Harry looked between George and Susan, who had blurted the question out a little tactlessly, but George didn't seem too bothered.

"My grandma. She was really sick, but I got to make sure she didn't die alone. Which I think is pretty cool, even if it was really sad and my mum and dad wanted me to get therapy. I'm fine though, just means I can see them. They have wings too. And they can fly! Excuse me, I'm going to look at the skrewts some more."

She barely even stopped for breath, disappearing in a flurry of curly hair - again, forcibly reminding Harry of Hermione. George was like a more devious version of Hermione, now he thought about it. Always bossing her two male friends about, doing brilliantly in classes and usually with a book in hand. She was also mischievous, had almost as many detentions as her Weasley namesake and was so energetic it was tiring to witness at times. Then there was the food... Harry thought on his huge, meat-stacked meals and decided not to judge. Even if he didn't think jam and sausages went together.

"Do you know them?"

"George, thats Georgina but she hates it" it was habit to add that, as she reminded anyone who dared say Georgina even once "Bella and Jason are Gryffindor first years. The other identical one is Jacob, Slytherin. I think those two are other first year Slytherins too. I'm bad at remembering names. But they seem to be working to house unity, which I think is brilliant given the current climate."

Susan ahh-ed quietly, backing away when a little skrewt puttered over to them shakily, staggering as it learnt to walk.

"Are these what we'll be taking care of in Magical Creatures Hagrid?"

"Maybe. Gotta introduce 'em to th' seventh years firs', Ministry regulations and all tha'. Look at 'em, 'armless!"

Hagrid had said similar things about dragons and acromantula, so Harry took the description with a pinch of salt. Particularly when they started expelling puffs of smoke, singeing the grass behind them.

"Yer better be gettin' back, it's late!"

"Damn. Can we come visit them?"

"O' course!"

Harry volunteered to walk the first years back, realising he hadn't gotten that far into an actual visit with Hagrid between Susan's awkward silence and the avalanche of first years alerting Hagrid to imminent hatching.

The awkward silence continued between them, and Susan headed over to Hufflepuff table for dinner, claiming she missed her friends. He supposed it could be true. Shrugging inwardly, he dropped into a chair next to Draco, poking him with a turkey leg when he wouldn't stop kissing Hermione.

"Oi!"

"People are eating, save the PDA for somewhere more appropriate. Like Potions class."

"Yeah. Like that wouldn't get you killed and dissected for potion ingredients."

Hermione flushed lightly, but Draco elbowed him in the ribs jokingly and wiped the turkey juice from his face with than usual. Piling his own plate with lots of meat, then hearing a voice suspiciously like Vlad's in his head accusing him of an unbalanced diet, he added some potatoes, carrots and sweetcorn.

The increase in appetite and meat consumption was going somewhere at least, Harry noticed. He was still skinny, but less so than he used to be and finally growing in height. Only Vlad and Draco were taller than him, Vlad taller than Draco by a couple of inches. He had explained that - vampires reached their adult height by 16 more often than not, whereas most humans would grow until their twenties sometimes. So it made sense he was growing the quickest, being the only vampire in their dorm.

Realising he couldn't see said vampire, Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table. Sure enough, Vlad was sat with Ingrid, directing vegetables into his mouth in between a clearly in-depth discussion with Theodore Nott. They were both looking down at something on the table, and he sincerely hoped Vlad wasn't doing _homework_ at dinnertime on a weekend.

Though he had told Harry he was close to having information ready for animagus stuff. He had somehow gotten Hermione involved. He didn't mind that so much, they were still a trio regardless of species and relationship status variations. If Vlad disappeared, Hermione would be his first port of call, the second person he would trust most with his life easily. The promise of learning to become an animagus, to do something his father had done, something that was zero to do with his Slytherin heritage... It made him giddy.

He just hoped it didn't turn out he was a snake animagus. He would be tempted to hex himself.

The next day, Susan was perfectly fine with him again, and Lily continued to hiss grumpily about Harry not introducing her and his 'human' to each other. She didn't really want to meet Susan, but she had obviously clocked on to the fact Harry would keep the two apart to keep his parselmouth a secret. He was lucky in that his dorm mates had never told anyone, even when they hadn't taken the revelation all that well.

Would he be that lucky with Susan? If she took it badly, would he have Ministry officials coming to question him for being a snake-whisperer? Would it be in the Daily Prophet within hours?

Twisting on his side to punch his pillow into submission, Harry sighed to himself. Why did his life have to be so damn complicated? He hadn't realised that wonderment had been aloud until Lily hissed sleepily in response.

"You would get bored if it wasn't."

-YDHP-

 **If my descriptions of skrewts are horrendously incorrect, sorry! I based the adult descriptions on the ones that try to eat you alive in the Goblet Of Fire game. Man I hate those things.**


	26. Problematic Promises

**Kuraihikaru - I _did_ add at the end of the chapter they were probably different in the canon-verse! And that the wings bit was based on them in the Goblet Of Fire game. Just saying. You have to suspend timelines to even read this, because technically Vlad wasn't even born until the mid 90s. Canon timelines are of little importance here.**

-YDHP-

 _"Stand aside, foolish girl!"_

That always boded the nights Harry woke up sweating, silent tears on his face and heart pounding unnaturally fast since Samael made his body run slower, cooler than most.

Reaching for the water next to his plain-glass spectacles on the bedside, Harry wiped his face clean on his sleeve and tried to calm his thrumming body.

"What is it wizard?"

"Just a nightmare Lily, go back to sleep."

He was clammy all over, thin cotton pyjamas sticking to his sweaty skin and even a cleaning charm didn't totally alleviate the feeling. Sighing, Harry rooted through his trunk for clean pyjamas and stumbled over to the bathroom for a cool shower. A silent tempus charm revealed it to be 2:30am, which explained why everybody else was still fast asleep as Harry re-dressed.

"You ok?"

Vlad was awake in the night was so commonplace his voice didn't even make Harry jump as it crept out of the dark.

"Yeah, just you know, the weather starting to warm up again. Takes a little adjusting."

The nearly-forgotten feeling of Vlad's cooling charm (somehow different to Harry's own) slid over his skin, instantly relaxing leftover tension in his frame and making his naturally-cool skin tingle in relief.

"I need to start remembering that. Thanks Vlad."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Even in the night, he could see the glimmer of Vlad's dark blue eyes in the faint glimmer of moonlight. He always, _always_ seemed to know when Harry had had a nightmare, and if Harry didn't know better he would think Vlad woke up whenever they happened. That was madness though, it was far more likely Vlad was a light sleeper and woke when Harry moved around. Come to think of it, he almost never actually saw Vlad sleeping, he was always awake whenever Harry was.

He wavered for a minute or two, thinking of Susan and how he and Vlad were maybe too close if everyone assumed they were a couple at first. Then he gave in, pulling Vlad's curtains closed as he sat on the bed opposite him, spotting the greyish glow of silencing charms covering the fabric instantly.

"He told her to stand aside. Did he know? That is always at the forefront of my mind. Did he know he was killing his own daughter?"

"I don't know. I would think if he did, he would have said something other than foolish girl. And if he really wanted to spare her for that, he would have done. Maybe he had an inkling of magic backlash if she died for you, like right there and then but she wouldn't move and he lost his temper. Bats, he might even have thought she looked a little familiar and felt guilty about her mother?"

Vlad offered multiple points, and Harry hadn't really thought of how Lily Evans had looked a great deal like her mother, who Riddle had... copulated with. That wasn't really what he had come for, he knew deep down. Vlad didn't even complain when Harry crawled up the bed, burrowing his face in Vlad's chest and crying, he just wrapped an arm securely around his shoulders and let him cry it out.

"Shhh. It's ok."

The words weren't important, just Vlad's low, soothing and soft tones that lacked judgement. Harry fell asleep that way, and Vlad appeared to stay awake holding a silent vigil to keep the nightmares away.

"Sorry."

"I told you to stop apologising. I cannot imagine having to see... that. I'll make sure the coast is clear, you say good morning to Lily, who has seen fit to creep up on to my bed."

His familiar was indeed lazing across the foot of Vlad's bed, beady eyes and what Harry could only call the snake equivalent of a smirk on her little mouth. Holding out his hand, Lily coiled her way around his forearm and flicked her tongue at the crease of his elbow while Vlad carefully slipped through his curtains, ensuring nobody could possibly see in and spot Harry.

"Did you enjoy slumber with the vampire?"

"Shut up. I was distraught."

"I do not judge, wizard. Merely wish to remind you that one day you may push him away, and he won't come back. And you need him."

When Vlad reappeared, he was dressed for the day and warned Harry he only had a few minutes if he didn't want to be rushing for breakfast.

"Everyone else is gone, I'll wait in the common room for you."

The vampire boy smiled, rubbed an affectionate finger over Lily's emerald scales and then left Harry to slip free of the bed, tempting the snake off his arm with her breakfast mouse and rushing to clean himself up, clothes pulled on almost haphazardly. He almost put his uniform on, then realised it was a weekend and opted instead for the black t-shirt with green stars patterned over the sleeves, which he had brought solely because he thought it looked cool.

"Remember wizard, you need him."

"I know I do, he's my best friend. You stop being a pest, or I won't introduce you to my girlfriend."

"You said that a week ago. I am no closer to the female and you seem less enamoured than ever with the idea."

Lily wasn't quite on the money, but she was close - Harry was less enamoured, but not with Lily meeting Susan, but just with Susan herself. She didn't outright complain, but it was obvious she was a little unimpressed whenever Harry was deep in conversation with Vlad, Ingrid or even Hermione - who was more often than not holding hands with her boyfriend. He was starting to feel like she expected Harry to continually increase the amount of attention she got and ignore his friends.

"It's Easter soon, and we are staying at Hogwarts. I'll introduce you two then. That way if she screams Harry Potter is a Parselmouth, nobody will be around to hear it."

His Emeraldspire snake was nearly two feet long now, but luckily Harry was apparently growing stronger with her growing larger, as her body didn't weigh him down when she wrapped around his arm or hung from his neck.

"Very well. Go, leave me. I shall waste away with boredom and neglect."

"I know Lily, I'm sorry. You know you're still my favourite, right? Want me to bring you a sausage from breakfast?"

"Would not say no. Do not appreciate bribes."

She flicked her tongue out anyway, and he knew she was thinking of the sausage he would bring her. Providing he actually got on with leaving. The common room was empty except for Vlad, who was waiting for him even though it was delaying him getting food.

"Sorry, Lily was complaining I neglect her. I have to bring her a sausage from breakfast."

Vlad chuckled, familiar with the snakes cheeky attitude. They made it down in time for Harry to pile multiple types of meat, scrambled eggs and black pudding into a pancake wrap, and Vlad wrapped a couple of sausages in a paper napkin and tucked them in his pocket in between mouthfuls of toast. They both forced eyes away from where George was pouring orange juice over her cornflakes, though Harry couldn't help wondering if that softened the cereal the same way milk would.

Susan was waiting, as usual, right after breakfast, but Harry made out he had forgotten his Quidditch practice jumper in the dorm and escaped up there, taking the bribe-sausage from Vlad while he offered Phantom one too, and Lily hissed gratefully and rubbed her head against Harry's cheek, a rare and open display of affection.

"I love you too Lily. I have Quidditch practice now, you get some rest and digest your extra meal."

"Try not to fall from the sky wizard."

"Cheers Lily."

Susan took his hand as they walked to the Quidditch field, and he spotted her sat with the Gryffindor/Slytherin mix of first year students that often watched him flying - plus Vlad. Vlad was sat the other side of the first years, separated from Susan by three people. Hermione was sat with the Hufflepuff girl, periodically waving up at Harry and over at Draco, who was doing actual keeper practice this time.

He wasn't sure why, but Susan didn't quite meld into the group, and she clearly looked a little wary of the Slytherin students. Harry spent a little too long watching that instead of the air, and felt a bludger smash into his arm hanging loosely at his side. He _heard_ the bone break beneath it, fumbling for his wand to numb and splint it almost on autopilot as Healing Class sounded in his brbrain.

"Harry!"

"Are you alright?"

The Weasley twins materialised either side of him, whacking the bludger away and helping guide Harry down to the ground. He could fly one handed, but the shaky wobbles of pain didn't go away even with the numbing spell - it was very localised, and the whole area would swell and ache quickly.

Hermione had her wand out, casting a diagnostic spell as soon as the group reached him.

"Very clean break. Madam Pomfrey will patch you up no problem."

"And yell at you for getting hurt."

Vlad looked paler than usual, and took Susan shoving him aside to get to Harry first in surprisingly good stride.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course he's not okay Jace! That thing broke his arm! It was really cool how you magicked the splint on in mid-air though."

"I was only asking, stop being such a fan boy Jake."

The rest of the Gryffindor team hovered around them, Wood's deep voice filling the air as he asked if Harry was fatally wounded.

"Nah. You guys carry on practice, I will be right as rain when I've been to the Hospital Wing."

"If you're sure. Fred, George! Back on your brooms!"

"Yes sir captain sir!"

Harry laughed as the twins dramatically clambered onto their brooms, saluting the whole time they flew up and trying (and failing) to bow to Oliver mid-flight. Starting to feel the 'shock' edge in as adrenaline wore off, Harry clutched his broom in one hand and turned towards the exit.

"Vlad, go grab my stuff out the changing rooms? I think Pomfrey would have me hanged if I went to get changed before I get this looked at."

His friend seemed unsure, but Susan was clinging to Harry's uninjured side like a limpet, and Hermione was practically threatening Harry with her wand as they walked so he knew Harry wasn't unattended.

"Sure."

Hermione watched Vlad jog towards the changing rooms, eyes flicking over to Susan for a second but Harry didn't have the energy to pay attention, focusing on getting to the Hospital Wing where there would be healing spells and potions and maybe even a medically induced nap. The more the rush of surprise wore off, the more Harry felt suddenly exhausted.

Vlad met them there, placing Harry's clothes in a neatly folded pile on the bedside chair Susan vacated for the bathroom (Harry was certain they weren't folded when he took them off but Vlad was a neat freak sometimes). As predicted, his bone was mended magically in a heartbeat, supplemented by a potion that ensured the heal was firm, not soft and prone to rebreaking. It made him a little drowsy, and Madam Pomfrey could hear a yawning student in a crowded room.

"Right! You're staying here until dinner time at least. The house elves can bring you a snack if you wake hungry. If you're not mortally wounded, the rest of you - out!"

Harry barely noticed his red and gold jumper and riding trousers transfigured into Hospital-issue striped pyjamas, the bed he was on suddenly luxuriously inviting as the nurse chased his friends and girlfriend out.

When he woke, ravenously hungry and mildly groggy, Vlad was buried in a book ( _Fangtastic Facts About Vampires_ ) at his bedside, turning to see Harry awake only mere seconds after his eyes opened.

"I thought you guys got kicked out."

"They did. Madam Pomfrey likes me though, and let me wait to see you were ok so long as I was quiet. Hermione would have stayed too, but practice was over and she had lunch and laughing at her boyfriend to be done."

"And Susan?"

"Ditched us as soon as we were kicked out. Think she feels awkward around us without you as a buffer."

Harry looked down at his arm, lifting and flexing it a few times and happily finding it was perfectly healed.

"Madam Pomfrey said to not get hurt again for a few days while the bone calcifies fully, but you are essentially back on form."

The nurse, spying Harry awake, bustled over and ran diagnostic spells anyway, reiterated what Vlad had said then summoned a house elf to feed Harry - dinner was three hours away, but lunch would be mostly over by now. The barely cooked steak and perfectly herby, creamy mashed potatoes were absolute heaven to Harry, while Vlad sat in his bedside vigil spot eating a sandwich.

"Merlin, that was so good. Am I still not allowed to leave before dinner?"

Vlad nodded, but reached into his bag and tossed _Quidditch Through The Ages_ into Harry's lap. Harry owned a copy, but the one in his lap was library-issue. He turned to his friend in confusion.

"Open it."

Harry lifted the cover, finding the 'borrowed' stamp list alongside the hastily scrawled names of past students. Third one down, in a script almost identical to Harry's own, was **James Potter.** Vlad eyed him warily for a minute, clearly hoping he hadn't upset Harry. Somehow, it was exactly what Harry needed to see, clearing the residual anxiety from his nightmares.

"Thanks Vlad."

"Wouldn't dream of getting you to study when it's not an overnight stay here. And Madam Pomfrey gave me a couple vials of dreamless sleep, in case the midday nap throws off your sleep pattern."

He went back to his book, and Harry flicked through his own reading material, picturing his father doing the same, sat with teen Remus and Sirius, laughing and joking and secretly in love with Lily Evans. He ignored teen Wormtail in those fantasy-memories, preferring to just picture happy times before the war really hit home for them.

Harry was released with a clean bill of health, a lecture on reckless flying and an amused Vlad. Susan was already at the Gryffindor table, and Harry didn't miss her eyes narrowing slightly when she saw Vlad at his side. She grabbed his hand and yanked him down to his seat - the recently broken arm side, he noticed - and kissed his cheek, and he might have been imagining it but he could have sworn she was watching Vlad from the corner of her eye.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just slept off the bone potion, then got yelled at by Madam Pomfrey. Vlad came by to check I was ok to be released."

Vlad sat next to Hermione, Draco her other side, and the two slipped into conversation about Ancient Runes class while Harry devoured his rich meat pie, topped off with a couple of slices of pizza, then two slices of treacle tart. Fred watched him with amusement, shovelling ice cream down and pulling faces at the back of Percy's head further down the table.

"I dunno where you put it all Potter!"

"Hey, I was seriously injured! I need my strength."

They shared a grin, and Harry tried to ignore that he was right. He wasn't gaining much weight considering his appetite. Still, he wasn't eating more than Seamus, who would pack away the same amount of food then complain he was hungry only a couple of hours later.

When it came time to seperate for the evening, Susan pulled him back before he could follow the others upstairs, stretching up on her tip-toes and pressing her mouth against his. A little dumbstruck, Harry just kind of let her, unsure whether he was supposed to react, or even how he should. When she pulled away, there were wolfwhistles and catcalls (mostly from the Weasley twins) and her cheeks were tinged pink again.

"You're blocking the hallway, cretins."

Harry recgonised the voice, looking towards its source. Sure enough, Ingrid was stood there, trademark scowl in place as she glared at where Susan was holding Harry in place. The Slytherin housing was in the other direction, but for all Harry knew, Ingrid was going to the library. Doubtful, but possible. Letting his hand slide free of Susan's, Harry turned back to the girlfriend in question.

"Night Susan."

"Night Harry."

He got double arms-around-shoulders, pinned in place by the Weasley twins as they teased him mercilessly all the way to Gryffindor tower. He could smell the mildly bitter potion in the bathroom when he went to wash his hands - they still had bits of treacle on - and spotted Vlad rubbing at his chest again.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, its not a bad one. Potion got rid of it."

Vlad slipped him the dreamless sleep vials along with a cake, and in spite of the huge meal he'd devoured only an hour ago, Seamus was tearing into a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. Lily slithered down across the floor, curling up in Harry's lap where he sat leant against his trunk, discussing their upcoming tests - it was April already, Easter was next week and their exams started soon after.

Running a fond hand over the growing snake on his lap, Harry felt her relax into it more. Apparently he was forgiven... for now.

"What does the missus think of your snake then Harry?"

"Well, we're a bit young for that don't you think Dean?"

Neville choked on his butterbeer, and Draco and Seamus fell into fits of laughter, successfully hiding the fact Harry froze a little, making Lily turn her head up towards him. Even Vlad looked over with curious eyes.

"I meant Lily. But thank you for that terrifying image."

"She uh, doesn't know yet. I decided I would tell her at Easter, so if she freaks out there isn't a full school to out me to."

"Makes sense. Just you and Vlad this Easter isn't it?"

"Yeah. I mean, the Weasleys are staying too so we won't be alone."

Draco was going back to Malfoy Manor with his adoptive-father, as part of some cover story Harry didn't fully understand the specifics of - just that it was designed to ensure nobody watching from the outside could be certain of either Draco of Severus' loyalties. Harry had been invited, though he would have had to be smuggled out, but Vlad was staying - Ingrid was close to transforming, so they were taking advantage of relaxed rules and witnesses (by which Harry was certain meant breaking out of school to go to Hogsmeade) for her last days outside unprotected.

"Ingrid staying too then?"

Vlad nodded, head mostly hidden behind _"Arithmancy for Beginners_ " as he checked his homework.

"She never goes home for holidays unless I make her do it. No point for Easter, our dad doesn't like us eating chocolate so it's better here."

"Why?"

"Bad for your teeth."

"Hermione has dentists for parents, even they aren't that strict."

"We're from a traditional heritage. Old rules, old ways."

Draco helpfully steered the conversation back to exams, then homework and the Honeydukes stockpile from their February Hogsmeade trip. Food solved many problems in their dorm, particularly washed down with a butterbeer or two until everyone, except Vlad and his bloody pumpkin juice, was slightly foamy-warm on the inside. Lily had a tentative flick of the tongue at some butterbeer foam, but turned her snout up at it in horror.

"Disgusting. Never again."

"You asked to try it!"

"Irrelevant."

She even slithered off, taking refuge on Vlad's pillow, loosely coiled around Phantom's sleeping body. Vlad shook his head fondly at the two familiars stealing his bed, padding off to the bathroom to change for bed after he was done with Arithmancy. While Harry was positive Vlad wasn't actually bothered about Susan kissing him, it wouldn't take much to click Susan didn't like Vlad much.

At first, she had been accepting of he and Vlad being close, but now it was growing obvious she resented it in some way. To his credit, Vlad hadn't complained once. Even Lily was complaining about how much time Harry spent with his girlfriend, but Vlad hadn't said a harsh word, when even Harry knew he had been neglecting their friendship at times. Still, they had Easter coming up - Harry would make the time for him then, he promised himself.

* * *

Vlad knew he had pissed off the universe somewhere along the way. There was no other explanation for him having to suffer the sight of Susan _kissing_ Harry. Ingrid seperated them, and Vlad owed her big for that, but the sight was burned fresh into his mind every time he closed his eyes.

He was surprised to hear Harry planned to tell the girl about being a parselmouth - how exactly did he intend to explain it? Vlad _highly_ doubted he was going to admit he was the true heir of Salazar Slytherin. He supposed it could just be played off as a rare genetic quirk, because Slytherins line had mostly been lost.

The name was long gone, extinct in the male line as the Peverell name had been long ago. Nobody would _guess_ such a thing. Especially knowing 'Voldemort' was out to kill Harry - it was unlikely anyone else would think them related. Even less so when one considered Harry's mother was well known as a muggle born, not a half blood.

Susan... Susan definitely suspected Vlad had more than friendship feelings toward Harry. It was in her eyes - suspicion, jealousy - every time she saw Vlad anywhere near Harry. He forced himself to be polite and cordial, even when Susan kissed Harry, and Vlad wished Bertrand or Lily or even Remus bloody Lupin would savagely bite her. Then he would feel guilty for letting dark thoughts reign, because it wasn't actually Susan's fault Harry didn't want him.

That _didn't_ mean he stopped wishing she would keep her damn kisses to herself.

Exam season was two months away, and it was starting to show - everyone was a little stressed, even the first years. Well, except the Weasley twins.

"We'll have to get E's in everything."

"What is an E?"

Hermione burst out with an answer, barely giving the twins time to breathe before speaking back.

"Exceeds Expectations. Below O for Outstanding, above A for Acceptable. _Why_ do you think you'll get E's in everything?"

"Because us turning up for the exams"

"Would exceed every expectation."

Hermione tossed a screwed up ball of parchment at Fred, who was closest, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Honestly. You two could be brilliant if you paid attention."

"Not our fault school is boring."

It was the first day of the Easter holidays, barely any students staying for Easter - the last proper break before nose to grindstone studying. Meaning that Vlad, Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys were pretty much the only Gryffindors in the tower. Percy had gone back for the holiday, claiming a desperate desire to avoid his twin brothers' pranks.

That was a mistake - that just gave them much longer to _plan_ a prank. Or twelve. Vlad even gave them help, suggesting better ways to disguise trip-spells, and the mixtures they were working on for trick sweets - this had the double use of being prepared for their future jokes, and sworn oaths from each of them that Vlad and Harry never be a victim of their pranks. They wouldn't prank Hermione - they weren't that **brave**.

"What do you think would be funnier, canaries or squirrels?"

"The whole point is canary creams..."

Vlad overheard from the two chatting in the corner, and decided he really, really didn't want to know. Lily was taking advantage of the empty tower to stretch out in front in front of the fireplace, and while Ginny gave her a few wary looks (he didn't blame her after the basilisk incident), the snake was left undisturbed.

"Apparently, the rug is 'most luxurious'. At least someone appreciates the rug rather than the chairs."

He offered Harry a smile - the other boy was still periodically clutching the library issue of _Quidditch Through The Ages_ with his father's name in, and he had noticed the same thing Vlad had, in that Harry and James Potter both had remarkably similar handwriting.

When he spotted it - having been longingly looking through the book, wishing Harry looked at Vlad the way he did flying - he had to show Harry, and the reaction he got was more than worth all Madam Pince's complaints about how many books Vlad checked out.

After a couple of days just them, they had a basic routine down in that they spent the day with the Weasley students, or outside with Ingrid to take advantage of the miles of space along the lake side, then the evenings after dinner going through the basic meditation for the early Animagus training. As predicted, Harry hated it.

"I thought there was a potion!"

"There is, but it doesn't work instantly. You have to find the feeling of your 'animal', the potion just solidifies it in your mind so you know what you'll be aiming to transform in to. If you just take the potion with no clue what you're trying to feel, it won't work."

Harry grumbled, adjusted the pillow he was sitting on and scowled as he closed his eyes. Vlad thought he looked rather cute, but he kept such thoughts to himself. Hermione gave him knowing looks all the same, to which Vlad replied with a very mature sticking his tongue out.

"Nope. Not happening tonight. This is pants."

"You could do it if you weren't so nervous."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Hermione, as if asking what she meant.

"You're with the two people who know you better than anyone. Do you really think we can't tell you're terrified about telling Susan you're a parselmouth tomorrow?"

Vlad wished he could have said no when Harry asked, but he was nervous about tomorrow too. If Susan took it badly, Harry had asked Vlad to hypnotize her, removing the knowledge and replacing it with them breaking up. That part sounded brilliant, but Vlad was worried he would mess it up, or his own giddy joy would become too apparent.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just trying not to think about it."

Meanwhile, Vlad couldn't stop thinking about it. All the time. Simultaneously feeling ashamed for hoping desperately it would go badly, and Harry wouldn't be being stolen away from him. He was pathetic.

"Come on, might as well do our Potions essay. Definitely difficult enough to distract."

Harry reluctantly agreed, finding himself with Lily wrapped around his shoulders to peer over at their essay work and textbooks. He loved watching Harry with Lily, because he looked so relaxed when he slipped into parseltongue, and he clearly adored the snake, even when she flicked her tongue in his ear and his face scrunched up at the odd sensation.

"Does the scaly one have any useful information on undetectable poisons? Because there's only so much to say about you know, there being no way to detect undetectable stuff. I miss Wiggenweld lessons, at least they made sense."

"Nope. She's just laughing at me saying my Confusing Concoction had the consistency of runny soup instead of thick custard. Cheeky scaly pest."

He let Lily continue to rub her head against his cheek, so Vlad doubted the sincerity of his complaint, even if the bit about his Confusing Concoction was true - though it was a common problem, the potion contained citrus zest, which acted to prevent thickening. He was fairly certain their professor had gotten a kick out of that lesson.

Rolling out the measuring tape against his essay, Vlad groaned as he realised he was still three inches short. A pleading look to Hermione got her to check his work quickly, then give gentle hints about where he could look for more to write about. She knew he rarely got stuck, and exactly what it was distracting him, so the wonderful female of their trio took pity on Vlad's fried brains.

Even so, he was so wriggly inside he couldn't sleep much, up and showered and dressed before Harry was even awake at all. Phantom clambered all over him, licking his face and burrowing under his jumper in an annoying plea for attention.

"Hello furball, yes I do know you're there."

She mewled, swatting at a stray lock of hair hanging over his eyes with a paw before bolting off to harass some other victim. He did love her dearly all the same.

Hermione found him there, still sleepy around the eyes even though she was dressed for the day and clutching a book.

"Did you sleep?"

"A little. I think. I feel like I have snakes in my stomach."

"Emotionally? Or urgently drag you to Madam Pomfrey?"

"Emotionally."

He bounced anxiously in his seat, instincts all over the place and he _felt_ Harry wake up, knowing it would only be mere moments before he would appear at the top of the stairs, all sleep-mussed and perfection.

"Calm down or he's going to think somethings up with you. Do try not to be blatantly excitable about the prospect of them breaking up."

Vlad nodded to show he understood, tapping his fingers against the arm rest of his chair and watching the crackling fire.

"It's not that. I'm just scared I'll..."

He had to cut off, hearing the dormitory door swing open and knowing Harry would overhear anything else they said. He stumbled down, Weasley jumper over comfortable jeans and trainers. He was dressed for a difficult day, not an enjoyable date with his girlfriend. Vlad tried not to think of the implications.

"Breakfast?"

His stomach still felt knotted, tight but Harry needed to eat, and the sooner they got moving for the day, the closer he was to knowing how the 'conversation' would go, one way or another. Even nerves didn't slow Harry's ravenous appetite, and Vlad realised there were really very few students around - every single 'marked' student was absent for the holiday. Possibly reporting to their master. Susan was one of only three Hufflepuff students, Ingrid one of four Slytherins and only a handful of Ravenclaw students. More than Christmas, but still so few they used a fit-for-purpose sized table rather than the usual set up.

"Ew. Does he eat like this all the time?"

The other House students weren't as used to Harry's excessively meaty eating, the Ravenclaw second year boy staring at Harry's bacon/black pudding/grilled tomato combination in horror from his eggs and beans. Possible vegetarian. Vlad was quite happily eating his stack of hash browns and eggs mixed with spicy sauce, though he had a bacon-cheese toastie waiting for after. Melted cheese always helped calm him down, and he had a sudden need to eat his feelings.

Susan seemed torn between trying not to look at Harry's food and glaring at Vlad, all whilst delicately picking at her kippers (thankfully even Harry didn't eat those often, they smelled horrific) and fried eggs. He burnt his tongue a little on the hot cheese, but it tasted so good still he carried on eating it, waiting for Harry to be done satiating his taste for many dead animals. If he kept on like this, Vlad suspected their diets would not be dis-similar as adults.

Yet more proof they were compatible, his instincts crowed in the back of his mind.

Hermione waylaid the Weasleys, explaining Harry was about to confess Lily to his girlfriend and that they should leave them alone for it. They whispered "good luck" to him in turn while they were leaving the Hall, then Susan caught up with them. Vlad ducked away to look like he was going to the library, slipping behind a portrait of four unicorns forever trying to trick a wizard into playing them at leapfrog and jogging up the hidden stairwell to the sixth floor.

A quick glance showed Harry and Susan down at fourth floor, so he hurried up the last floor and through the portrait hole, up to the dormitory to prod Lily awake.

"Harry's bringing his girlfriend. So he will probably come get you, or maybe bring her up here."

He waved a hand to close all the bedcurtains in the dorm, hiding behind his own and charming them to keep any sound from escaping _out_ \- he would still be able to hear anyone else _in_ the room.

"Harry, why did you empty your tower and then bring me up here?"

"Probably not for whatever it is you might be thinking."

"Are you sure?"

The tone her voice took on made Vlad feel nauseous, itching to look out and ensure Susan kept her damn hands to herself.

"No really" Harry's voice went suddenly high pitched and Vlad's imagination couldn't stop running amok "Susan, slow down!"

"Ah, this one's yours."

The sound of fabric swishing, then a sort of thud followed by squeaking bedsprings had Vlad about ready to stake himself, but then there was a (distinctly satisfying) scream.

"AAAAAH! Harry! There's a **SNAKE** in your bed!"

"That's what I was trying to tell you about. Susan, this is Lily. My familiar."

"Your _what?_ "

"She's my familiar. My pet. She picked me" there was a few seconds silence where Vlad could picture Harry holding up the twin puncture marks on his hand "and so she's mine."

He heard Lily hissing, probably staying back up on Harry's pillow and deciding whether to be naughty and scare Susan, or behave and probably get a meaty treat for her trouble. Then he heard Harry hissing, followed by a sort of squeaking sound, then a dull thump.

"Susan?" Harry's voice was panicked, then he heard a whispered " _Vlad?_ "

Slowly, Vlad poked his head out of the curtains, spotting Susan unconscious on the floor by Harry's bed.

"Yes?"

"I uh... I think I broke her."

"She was shocked. Revive her, then see what she has to say. I will be right here."

The words on his tongue were "wipe her memory and get rid of her" but he owed Harry better than that, forcing a more considerate reply from his mouth. He slid back behind the cover of crimson hangings, waiting to hear Harry fumble for his wand and mutter "ennervate!". His mate didn't utilise silent magic often, saying he didn't want to rely on it until he was more confident.

"Harry? I had the weirdest dream! You were a parselmouth and had a pet snake!"

"Uh" he ached listening to Harry struggle for words "that wasn't a dream."

"Oh."

There was a painful, heavy silence for several minutes, in which Vlad wished and wished he could just take a peek at what was happening.

"Does Vlad know?"

"He was there when I got her. Didn't even blink. Had to be told it was a supposedly dark skill."

"It _is_ a dark skill Harry! Salazar Slytherin! You-know-who!"

"Are you saying I'm evil?"

The sheer pain, defeat in his tone broke Vlad's heart, and it took every bit of restraint not to hex Susan seven ways to Hades when he heard her answer with

"You must be."

 _Impedimenta!_

He had never tried to cast a hex without being able to see the target, but he heard nothing but a sad, choked sound from Harry. Surely by now Susan should be running. Instincts firing his powers up, Vlad snapped his fingers and the Impediment Jinx wore off, but Susan stood staring blankly. _Nobody_ called his mate evil.

"You are not evil Harry. Don't you dare let her make you believe that. Who knows you better, me or her?"

"...you."

He knew this wasn't over, but he wanted to get in early on reminding Harry he was _good._

"And I know evil. You are not it."

Wishing they weren't somewhere he could never get away with causing her serious pain, Vlad looked into Susan's eyes and pondered what to change.

"Harry is not a parselmouth. You remember nothing about Lily the snake. You and Harry had a fight, and broke up. Badly."

He added the last word purely for vengeful kicks, wanting her to hurt just a fraction of what he knew being called evil had pained Harry.

She dropped when he clicked again, fast asleep on the floor and he barely stopped himself kicking her - even he wouldn't hit her when she was down.

"When she wakes, she will be terribly distraught you broke up. It had to be emotional, or nobody would buy it. I'm going to get her out of here, don't you dare go off and hide."

Harry nodded, the glimmer of tears in his eyes tugging fiercely at Vlad's heart. Holding his wand for show, Vlad levitated Susan's unconscious form, then turned back to Harry.

"Check there's nobody in the hospital wing?"

Harry flipped open the map, pulling off his glasses to scrub a sleeve across his eyes as the ink filled out in spidery lines before them.

"Just Madam Pomfrey."

"I'll drop her there, say she stressed herself out and fainted over the break up or something."

Slipping down a couple of shortcuts, he made it to the Hospital Wing without being spotted floating an out-cold student.

"Vladimir? What are you doing?"

Grumbling inwardly, Vlad floated her to a bed and waved a hand to close the doors behind them.

"She and Harry had a fight, they broke up. Susan got a little overwhelmed and fainted. Maybe a calming draught when she wakes up? I need to get back, Harry's alone."

There was a momentary hesitation, but she seemed to buy it. Or at least, asked no further questions and handed Vlad a vial of calming draught.

"In case Harry's upset too."

"Thanks Madam Pomfrey."

She waved him off with a mostly-hidden fond smile, pretending not to notice Vlad turning to jog out of the Wing before running back the way he came, hurrying back to Harry who was still where Vlad had left him, with Lily curled up in his lap and slender fingers stroking over beautifully green scales.

"Well?"

"Madam Pomfrey believed me. Gave me this for you."

Harry didn't hesitate, knocking back the draught and quickly melting backwards into his bed, not necessarily calm but definitely past grim resignation, away from terribly upset. Vlad dropped down next to him, mindful of Lily's readjusting body and running a reverent hand over the snake that wanted Harry happy and safe, just as he did.

Susan had undone months of hard work in just three words, half his mate instincts calling for her blood and the other half insisting he stick to Harry like glue, protecting his mate endlessly. Hoping he wouldn't be rebuffed, Vlad ran a gentle hand over Harry's hair.

"You are not evil. You are so much more than a genetic quirk you inherited from something you had no power over. Our abilities don't define us, our choices do."

Harry hummed, then wriggled closer and threw an arm over the nearest part of Vlad - his left thigh. Swallowing thickly, Vlad fought not to shift uncomfortably - Harry would take it the wrong way. So long as he didn't move or look too closely, he wouldn't notice the effect such contact was, shamefully, having on Vlad.

"Promise to never let me be evil?"

"Promise."

-YDHP-

 **Unsure if this feels rushed or painfully dragged out... Either way, there are only two or three Main E** **vents to year three left, then we move on to year four. And that's where the real fun starts!**


	27. Sickly Sentiments

**Fangirlfriend2 - Yes, I have all that totally planned out on my 'big events' list! But obviously, not going to tell you. Spoilers!**

 **YokaiAngel - I really hope that was a good wow and not a "wow this is terrible why did I read this?"!**

 **Dark Serpent Cat - I feel like you just wrote a Count/Harry bonding scene. Though I wonder how advisable fighting death eaters would be for the Count.**

 **Happy Halloween guys!**

-YDHP-

He should feel guilty, but Vlad couldn't stop the giddy excitement bubbling inside him every time he saw Susan's face crumple sadly at the sight of Harry. Apparently his hypnosis had taken wonderfully. Harry obviously felt bad, but Vlad knew he was far more upset about the negative comments Susan had made, calling him evil. He still indulged his daydreams of her untimely demise now and then... Now, for example. She had undone months of hard work of his, all in a few seconds.

Lily spent a great deal of time harassing her wizard, and he was glad to see at least Harry wasn't trying to avoid using those supposedly 'evil' gifts he had. Then he really would leave Susan unconscious in the Forbidden Forest on a full moon.

There was even a full moon soon... No. Bad Vlad. Stop that. After his mental scolding (of himself) Vlad schooled his face to more neutral, rubbing a hand through Phantom's fur where she rested on his leg and enjoyed the content look on Harry's face when Lily rubbed her tail there.

It was just them in the dorm for a couple more days, and Vlad's dreams had run wild with that fact. He may actually have to take dreamless sleep until the others came back, because being alone with Harry after his mind was full of increasingly X-rated images was difficult.

Even more so when he was woken by Harry's nightmares and he shamefully pictured Harry crawling into his bed for very different reasons. Which was doubly inappropriate when his mate was crying.

Phantom gave him a very judgmental look, and Vlad felt bad all over again, like the furry familiar knew Vlad had inappropriate thoughts and she disapproved greatly. She was right to, in all fairness.

"You ok Vlad?"

"Fine. Just worried about Ingrid."

Her transformation was less than a month off and it was anxiety inducing. He wanted to see her into the Mirror room at Stokely Castle, it was a sign of caring to be there (or boredom sometimes). However, he knew she wanted Bertrand there, and it wouldn't be tough to convince him to go for protection or something - unless Bertrand felt it too, and he was itching to be there anyway. Vlad wished he could ask.

But Vlad wouldn't leave Harry so unprotected, Vlad wouldn't leave if Bertrand was too. He needed to talk to Ingrid.

"Oh yeah. Her sixteenth is the first. Are you going with her?"

"Not sure yet. It's term time, I might not be allowed. There aren't too many rules put in place with my kind in mind."

Harry nodded, running a finger along Lily's underbelly and Vlad could only describe the hissing sound she made as a snake giggling. Harry smiled in response to whatever Lily said next, then looked up at Vlad.

"She told me off, apparently tickling snakes is a bad idea."

"I thought that was dragons?"

"No, no. It's definitely snakes according to her."

Lily got so offended she wriggled free, slinking down and over the floor to coil up the frame, then along Vlad's bed. She did lift her head to peer over the end of his bed, flicking her tongue out and keeping beady eyes on her wizard.

Vlad would have tried offending her into going back to Harry, but he wasn't sure she wouldn't bite him, so he just rubbed a finger over her head and snout, then shifted Phantom to lie next to her.

"Shall we leave the pests? It's nearly lunchtime anyway."

"Sounds good. Are you and Ingrid going out today again?"

Vlad shrugged, stepping back into his shoes to head down to the Great Hall.

"I have no clue. Ingrid will just grab me and drag me off I assume. If she does you and Hermione can work on meditation some more."

"I can barely contain my excitement."

Vlad couldn't suppress a smile at Harry's deadpan tone, his utterly unimpressed expression. It was times like that Vlad wished he could kiss away the frown, then keep going until Harry smiled and Vlad would know it was for him. Wishful thinking, he knew.

He was beginning to wonder where Bertrand was. Vlad didn't remember him going to Malfoy Manor, and Vlad had no tutor sessions during school holidays. But the vampire wasn't at meals, bats Vlad hadn't even seen him in the library. Maybe he was sleeping in the day, just because he could. Maybe he _had_ gone to Malfoy Manor, just... stealthily.

When Ingrid beckoned him to follow her, so they could break out of the school and head to Hogsmeade, she very kindly waited long enough for Vlad to see Hermione and the Weasleys with Harry, so his mate was safe.

"I've been meaning to ask" Vlad brought it up while they were alone, pacing through the tunnel between a one eyed witch statue and Honeydukes cellar "would you rather Bertrand be there than me? To see you off for the Mirror, I mean. It wouldn't be a problem, except I doubt they'll let Harry come too and I don't want to leave him unprotected."

Ingrid stopped, and he recognised the tension in her shoulders, the way her fist clenched until her knuckles were white - no small feat with their already pale skin. He waited, wishing he hadn't had to remind her of her unfulfilled mate call so close to her transformation. He was dreading **that** more than the fangs right now.

"Do you really have to ask?"

"Yes. Because I know you would definitely prefer him on an instinct level, but a rational one? If you see him, when you are fresh from the Mirror, will you be able to control yourself?"

He knew Ingrid would, innately, take offence to the implication she could struggle with self control, but they both knew that their transformation could wreak havoc while one readjusted to being dead - that's why they had three days off for the Blood Mirror, not just the actual birthday.

"I know."

It was a whisper, a pained admission of just how garlic-awful their shared situation was and Vlad reached out, daring to offer comfort in this shadowed, empty tunnel. Ingrid accepted it, just for a few seconds, and Vlad knew he would never bring up the unshed tears he caught a glimpse of.

He _loved_ Harry, but this mate thing **sucked.**

"Are we done with the feelings? The Slytherin in me is vomiting right now."

"You haven't answered me."

The silence was so absolute, he could have heard a ghost take a step.

"I want him there."

"I'll tell him. Don't worry, I'll sell it as me refusing to leave Harry but not letting you go alone. I value my life too much to ever insinuate you have sentimentality somewhere in there."

The stinging hex, Vlad thought, was probably earned.

It did seem to cheer her up, as causing pain often did for Ingrid. Vlad didn't take Ingrid choosing Bertrand's presence over his own - if he had to choose who he wanted to see first from the Blood Mirror, it would be his mate too.

They emerged from the Honeydukes cellar, invisible and amused with no sign of the heavy conversation that had taken place on the way over. They hid in an alleyway to drop the cloaking spells, then went about their day trip. If anyone suspected they shouldn't be out of Hogwarts, they didn't say a thing. That might have been because Ingrid was glaring at every single person that day though.

He didn't need chocolate - the Weasley matriarch had sent a ridiculous amount to Hogwarts, but he did buy the fudge Harry liked, the one that apparently tasted like butterbeer - Vlad hadn't dared try it after hearing that. The trip was for Ingrid, one of her last chances to be out under the sun without protective spells that (according to Bertrand) felt prickly, even with the potion too.

Vlad couldn't resist buying pumpkin flavoured treats, and thought maybe a new bar of Honeydukes chocolate was owed to Madam Pomfrey, for all the times she let a frantic Vlad loiter at Harry's bedside instead of panicking outside in the halls. _Especially_ after she had done him the great favour of kicking Harry's then-girlfriend out.

Ingrid purchased so much junk food Vlad almost - _almost_ \- suspected she was trying to rot her fangs, though realistically he knew it was because even if she still liked the same things after, it would never be quite the same to her vampiric tastebuds. The 'mate' conversation picked up again on their way back, laden with joke products and junk food.

"How's the snake whisperer dealing with single life then?"

"He feels a little guilty because Susan bursts into tears, but she told him he must be evil and so he feels far worse about that. I like to daydream about feeding her to Professor Lupin."

Ingrid laughed aloud, probably at the idea of anyone being in vast amounts of pain. They separated with a brief hug, and Vlad reiterated his promise to get Bertrand agreeing to be at Ingrid's transformation quietly. He tracked Harry down in the library with Hermione, studying Healing spells until Vlad returned, and the three retired to the boys dormitory - via the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey launched prematurely into a lecture about getting hurt until she spotted the chocolate Vlad held out.

"Happy Easter Madam Pomfrey."

"Thank you Vladimir. Now, if there's nothing wrong with any of you, shoo!"

Her fond smile belied the statement, but they scarpered anyway. They had only two afternoons and evenings left to utilise the empty, uninterrupted meditation time. Hermione was already making headway, apparently her 'feeling' was beginning. Vlad only kept going for the practice in meditating, as the actual exercise the other two were engaging in was pointless for him. He felt an occasional flicker of _something,_ something warm and weightless, but he didn't chase it. There was no point.

He focused instead on the 'magical core' trance state, curious to see if their earlier research about sympathetic magic and twin cores was actually true. It was immensely rare for any two witches or wizards to have the same representation, so there was no concrete thing to look for, only hints and tips on the feelings. If he found something, he would tell Ingrid to try it - no point adding to her stress when he was unsure yet.

Phantom disturbed the otherwise silent session by leaping into Harry's lap, reaching up to paw at his necklace that was presently un-glamoured.

"You are not helping furball."

"She is, it's an excellent excuse to stop. My legs gone to sleep."

Harry stumbled upright, lifting Phantom with him and tickling under her chin, much to her squirming delight. Hermione poked him in the knee, reminding Vlad he was staring rather obviously. It was near enough to dinner by then that Harry refused to try again, citing his growling stomach as evidence and practically glowing when Vlad handed him the butterbeer-flavoured fudge.

"I love this stuff!"

Vlad quietly melted inside watching Harry chew on the confectionary, not even dampened by Susan's sad stares between courses at dinner, or Harry wiping off a streak of ketchup that looked a little too like blood for his liking, having drowned his (double layered) cheeseburger in the stuff before devouring it.

Their next morning was a lazy homework session in the common room, with Lily and Phantom on the hearth rug and Fred and George flicking ink at each other while they 'crammed' for their OWLs. Ginny laughed while Hermione disapproved, and then it was back to meditation.

"I think I might be ready for the potion soon!"

Hermione bounced up happily, buoyed by their secret successes while Harry glared lightly.

"I haven't made it yet, it doesn't take very long but it also doesn't preserve well, so it's more of as and when needed."

"This is hopeless! All I can feel is a big black cloud of nothing."

Unhappy with the dejected look on Harry's face, Vlad contemplated what it could mean.

"Like an actual cloud?" Harry nodded, looking puzzled as his brow furrowed. "That could just mean your form is avian, or prefers stormy weather."

"So I am getting somewhere?"

"Almost definitely."

Harry's face smoothed out, and he seemed more determined now he had the prospect of 'getting somewhere' as he closed his eyes again, muscles relaxing into a meditative state. Vlad, too antsy to really sink to trance levels, indulged in watching Harry shamelessly for a little while. Hermione gave him a knowing, not quite judgmental look, then went back to her own meditation.

The finding their feeling was of course, the easiest part. Even when they knew what it was they would become, they had to learn how to transform. It required power and focus generally beyond anyone who hadn't had years of study, and both their power spurts. Though, he mused, Hermione could study more avidly than even Bertrand, and it was already becoming apparent Harry was, or would be, immensely powerful, with his basilisk blood and long, powerful ancestry.

Neither of them were any further along by the time the other students returned, and Harry and Susan's break up was the buzz in the hallways. Bertrand was still nowhere to be seen, and Draco swore he hadn't been at Malfoy Manor, which only perplexed Vlad further, but he headed to the mans quarters for his usually scheduled tutoring session. The door swung open like usual, and Bertrand looked... exhausted, was the only word for it.

"Are you alright?"

Vlad waited until the door was closed behind him to ask, quieting the urge to ask where the hell he had been for the last week and a half. For now.

"A minor blood allergy, I am already on the mend. You will have to forgive the lackluster lesson tonight, your study material is laid out. Feel free to engage me if you need, however."

He wasn't sure why, but Vlad was almost certain the vampire was _lying_ to him. Granted, all vampires lied generally, but that only meant Vlad wondered what he could possibly be covering up. He didn't look sick, he just had the look of someone who had been plagued by no sleep and bad choices. Still, Vlad didn't have any right to push, and he was there to learn, not pry into Bertrand's psyche.

"I do need a favour. Not tonight, that is."

"Oh?"

Wishing he had rehearsed something to say, so it sounded less babbling, Vlad ploughed on anyway.

"I need you to go with Ingrid for her transformation. I would, but I can't leave Harry and I don't want Ingrid vulnerable. She's a Slytherin, bound to have come to the attention of the bad guys as a way to get to Harry through me."

Bertrand didn't answer for several beats, eyes closed and head slightly bowed as if in thought, or perhaps pain. Perhaps even prayer, though vampires didn't generally mentally converse with deities. They didn't really _have_ deities, unless he counted Beelzebub or Lucifer. A route he did not generally let his mind wander down.

"Very well."

"Thank you."

Even as he turned to the books on blood types and fang sharpening, Vlad couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something.

* * *

Harry. Hated. Meditation.

His leg would fall asleep, or his butt would go numb. He couldn't feel a damn thing most of the time, and while logically he knew frustration would only further inhibit his ability to reach a trance-like state, he could no more forget the frustration than cut off his legs.

It didn't help that Susan saying "you must be" to Harry asking if she thought him evil rang in his ears whenever his mind wandered, making relaxation near impossible. Harry also had a terrifying notion his Animagus form would be a snake, while he loved his familiar and felt a connection to Samael - he actually _missed_ the basilisk - he didn't want to have another massive reminder of his Slytherin genes.

Vlad telling him the stormcloud he sort of saw in his mind probably meant his form was something that flew relaxed him hugely, enough to keep trying at least. There was little progress made before the Easter holidays were over, and even though she was obviously eager to continue, Hermione enforced a rigid study schedule on anyone who would listen as their exams neared.

 _Everyone_ wanted to know why he and Susan had broken up, and honestly Harry wished he could go back in time and tell her after their first date it wouldn't work out just to save the gossip. How did people do this regularly? The whole process had been exhausting, Harry just wanted someone it wasn't awkward or "me or them" about his friends with.

Basically, he needed a female version of Vlad, but who wasn't Hermione because she was not only dating Draco, she was more like a sister to him. Sighing quietly to himself as he made study notes on Switching Spells, Harry reached for the fudge stash Vlad had given him. Butterbeer flavoured fudge was truly a gift from food magic itself, sweet and thick and chewy, rich without being sickly.

"Your girlfriend is _bonkers!_ Nobody but her and Vlad could possibly get all this revision done in a day!"

Seamus complained loudly to Draco, the distinct sound of a book slamming shut reaching Harry's ears - he was hiding behind his bedcurtains a little. So he didn't have to share the fudge. He had raided the kitchens for study snacks, in the form of pizza with warming charms on and leftover bunny-themed Easter treats. The fudge was his.

"I know, but none of us have ever failed an exam and I have a suspicion that's mostly because she made us study until our brains melted."

"Not the point. I'm done. Phantom, stop licking the pizza!"

Harry chuckled to himself, swallowing some water and feeling Lily slither around his bed to change positions, pointing her scaly face in his direction now so she could initiate conversation.

"Vampire one is troubled. Why?"

"Ingrid's birthday is coming up, I think he's mostly worried about her, but also that she will out their family as actual vampires."

Lily flicked her tail in contemplation, slowly bringing it up to rest across Harry's foot. The others usually said she felt cold - the rare times they dared touch the growing, venomous snake - but to Harry's cooler skin she felt perfectly fine, though he supposed that could be their familiar bond too.

"Female snake is also troubled. Furry one says so."

"I don't know what's up with Ingrid if it's not the whole becoming undead thing, I would say ask Vlad but I think there's a language barrier."

The last fortnight between then and Ingrid's birthday whiled away in a haze of meditation, strange dreams about potions turning into monsters to attack him (he blamed studying) and Vlad's well-hidden but definitely burgeoning anxiety.

He followed along when Vlad went to wish her a happy birthday/good luck for the next day, Bertrand hovering about holding their (official, for once) portkey. The vampire had what he recognised as a potions case, which he supposed could contain almost anything, but most likely contained sun potions for he and Ingrid's return.

Vlad looked at the two a little strangely, as though there was something Harry was missing when the two stood either side of the rubber bat toy. Maybe he was just sad he couldn't go. Harry also noticed Severus wasn't there to bid his boyfriend farewell, but perhaps that had been done in private, the better for the potions masters cover. Draco only spoke about his holiday in the dorm, with either their dorm mates or Hermione present.

Secrecy was already becoming sacrascent.

As the two 'popped' off, Professor McGonogall looked at the sad expression on Vlad's face, then swept out of the room. In spite of the fact Vlad didn't stop Harry from getting into his bed when he had nightmares, Vlad didn't initiate much physical contact anymore. That was probably Harry's fault, when he had another 'wobble' about whether they were too close.

He felt even worse for it when Vlad looked _surprised_ at Harry pulling him into a hug, though the vampire boy still clung to him all the same.

"You guys have been apart for more than three days before, surely?"

"Yeah, but never for such a major reason, and we haven't gone that long not seeing each other since I started here."

To most, Ingrid had left for a traditional 'coming of age' ceremony in Romania - it was technically true, but also meant fewer would be likely to go looking for her at Stokely Castle. It could also be replayed as an excuse when it came to Vlad's sixteenth birthday, even if very few places considered sixteen 'of age'.

Vlad was tense, on edge the whole three days, the charmed journal he and Ingrid had the matching set of rarely far from his hands as he waited for news. It finally buzzed, Vlad's slightly shaking hands opening it. The relief on his face was obvious, and when nobody else was looking Vlad mouthed "she's okay" to Harry. Unsure what that meant, Harry simply offered his friend a smile.

"What did you mean, she's okay? I know it's probably no picnic but it's not... dangerous. Is it?"

Vlad couldn't answer immediately - he was rinsing toothpaste from his mouth. This was the first chance they had had to talk alone, their dormitory full of increasingly-frantic studying. He spat the water out, dried his mouth and stared at his own reflection for a good two minutes before he answered Harry.

"It's a test of power, of strength of will. It's taking on our dark side without being lost to it. And while I didn't really worry Ingrid wasn't strong enough, it _can_ actually kill us. I'm supposed to be this uber vampire in the future. I am terrified."

Suddenly Vlad's tension made much more sense. Harry hadn't known there was any chance Ingrid wouldn't make it back to Hogwarts. Or that in the future, Vlad could be lost. The thought was a painful one, lodging sharp and hard in his chest.

"You've survived face-offs with Riddle. You're going to be fine."

The hope in Vlad's eyes when he looked at Harry was so desperate, Harry wished he knew anything that could make it better.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

He didn't. Harry knew nothing of thr sort. But Vlad visibly relaxed, and that was because of him. That felt good. Realising he was still holding the toothbrush in his hand, Harry finished rinsing and watched as Vlad removed the silencing charm from the door, before following him out into the dorm.

Ingrid didn't make a huge deal (unusual for her) of her return - she was just there at breakfast the next day, as caustic and regal-acting as ever. Perhaps a little paler, though she had been very much porcelain before. Harry could also _see_ some sort of charm on her face, remembering Vlad had mentioned glamour charms and fangs when he was fixing Harry's glasses to mask his eyes.

"It's got to be a very specialised charm, because usually survival instincts in our brains wouldn't allow it to be totally concealed."

Hermione seemed happy to carry that conversation all by herself, as Vlad was engrossed in a runic translation and Harry didn't know what she was talking about at first. At Harry's confused expression, she peered around to check nobody in the library was nearby listening before whispering.

"Ingrid's teeth."

Draco joined them for studying about half an hour later, a smudge of blackened skin telling them he had probably been at Potions practice beforehand. With less than four weeks to go before their exams started, stress levels were starting to rise and Madam Pomfrey was burning through headache potions and calming draughts rapidly according to Draco, who had been helping brew new stocks.

"The NEWT students are the worst. Expect us to be told off for breathing too loud by seventh years any day now."

As they all shared a tower with Percy Weasley, they were all very aware of that. Fred and George had taken up the personal challenge of irritating their brother into yelling at them daily, swearing it was good stress release for him. Hermione disagreed, but at least Percy had stopped yelling at the first- and second-years for being noisy.

June slid up almost without warning, finding the Gryffindor third year boys rather rowdy as they devoured the latest Honeydukes haul, the last Hogsmeade weekend of the school year having just passed by. Lily was eyeing the bag of ice mice that squeaked realistically, despite Harry's warnings she really wouldn't like them.

Quickly biting the head off his chocolate frog before it could escape, Harry felt a sharp pain in his tooth. It was gone a few seconds later, and didn't return as he tentatively took another bite. Strange. When he peered reluctantly at his teeth later, dreading more changes, he was relieved to see no visible difference.

Making a mental note to keep on top of his oral hygiene, Harry forgot all about it by the time he came out and saw Seamus and Neville having fizzing whizzbee contests - who could levitate the highest without giving in to the sour taste of the dissolving sherbet. Everyone feeling mildly sick from sugar overload, they retired to bed before the exam period started up for real.

-YDHP-

 **I think next chapter will be shorter than usual, but the other two for Year Three should be longer. So if you feel cheated next week, I will make it up to you!**


	28. Panic Logic

**vampireharry the 2 - thank you!**

 **Dark Serpent Cat - I suppose, but also would we want immortal death eaters if they got turned?**

-YDHP-

It was official. Hogwarts was trying to kill them all with exams. Harry was sick of the sight of study notes, of how their professors reminded them constantly they needed to study. Hermione and Vlad were obviously, naturally breezing through revision, while the lesser mortals contemplated setting fire to their notes and going to become kneazle herders in the wild.

"I hate this."

"Here. Have some fudge."

Vlad placated him with sweets, and Harry was chagrined to realise it worked.

"Low blood sugar is not conducive to effective studying. So eat your butterbeer fudge and get back to Potions."

"Just because you and Hermione were born to be academics."

"I was born to be a bat. Academics was a choice. I just... I enjoy learning."

Hermione snorted from where she was sat next to Draco - it was only the four of them in the dorm, the other boys were off outside, swearing they would go stir crazy if they read one more list of goblin wars. So Vlad was free to crack vampire jokes.

"You're no vampire, you're a geek with fangs."

Vlad rolled his eyes, bit the head off his chocolate frog and resumed his Herbology revision - he had to skip random practicals in class, so he worried that would mean he didn't know things on the exam despite Professor Sprout giving him the accompanying study material. And Hermione always giving him an in depth account of the lesson. For a vampire, he was a real worrywort.

"Oh look, the specific type of garlic that blends best with silver to make argentalium. _Why_ is that in a Hogwarts textbook?"

"Argen-what?"

"Argentalium. A metal made from silver and garlic. Won't affect me, but drains the power of adult vampires, does a pretty good job as a repellant too. And of course, burns adult werewolves, can kill a bitten werewolf. You can use pretty much any garlic and mix the powder into liquid silver, then let it harden, but certain strains of the plant are better than others, more effective."

Harry supposed it was a measure in trust Vlad was even telling them this, and so casually - he trusted they wouldn't use the knowledge against them. There was no question to Harry, but he still felt it important - Vlad could well be wary of Harry having more ammunition of him given his past behaviour, but he was telling him anyway.

Lost in his thoughts, Harry was jerked back to reality by a sound of pain from Draco. As it transpired, he had spent too long kissing Hermione so Vlad threw an inkpot at him. Vlad _was_ kind enough to vanish the inky mess from Draco's platinum blond hair, but he was chuckling to himself the entire time.

"Wizard, why is there chaos whenever I awake from my nap?"

"Because the two lovebirds won't stop touching."

"Hmm. I distinctly remember the irritating witch you neglected me for was always touching you. I could smell her on you, it was most annoying."

"Are you saying I can't date because you don't like me smelling like another person?"

Lily flicked her tail, hissing unintelligibly to herself before slithering over to Vlad.

"This one smells more acceptable."

"Oh, so you want me to date _Vlad_ for _your_ sake? I'm sure that's how it works."

Lily rolled her little beady eyes and Vlad looked at her resting across his notes, wondering what she was doing with his work. He poked her still slightly mouse-shaped abdomen gently, trying to budge her off his notes on magical plant breeding.

"He is certainly preferable to the female witch you were with before."

"Two issues. I'm straight, and Vlad's a vampire."

"So?"

Exasperated, Harry held out his arm and Lily finally relinquished Vlad's work to wrap around his arm, loosely to allow for where she was still digesting yesterdays rodent. Vlad nodded in thanks, then went back to staring at his notes.

"He's a boy, and I don't date boys so I don't see Vlad like that. And he's a vampire, so presumably, he will date other vampires."

"Such strange conventions. What does gender matter?"

He was _not_ having that conversation with his familiar, not even to get her to stop insisting he _date Vlad._ The daft serpent. He slid her into her tank, flicked on the heat charm and she all but purred, settled in the warmth and leaving him to get on with studying babbling concoctions and confusing beverages. Or maybe the other way around. His mind was a little backwards right now.

"I need a walk."

"Want me to come with?"

It was automatic - Vlad didn't even look up, just responded instantly, almost instinctively. Harry shook his head.

"Nah, just need to stretch my legs and get out of these four walls. I'll be careful, don't worry."

He felt bad by the time he had gotten out of the portrait hole, because Vlad always looked a little... not disappointed, but worried, with Marked students in the school. Harry had multiple security measures on him - joy buzzer in one pocket, Marauders Map in another and Invisibility cloak tucked in his bag. Plus his wand, and he had mastered silent stunners and shield charms weeks ago.

Halfway through his planned walk Harry realised he was being followed, ducking into the nearest boys bathroom and charming the door locked behind him. It rattled, but Harry was already under his cloak and peering at the Map under said cloak. It was one of the Marked students outside the door, but there was a passageway hidden behind the permanently 'broken' toilet in here.

His charm wouldn't hold - he wasn't paying much attention at the time, and the door was still rattling. He tapped his wand on the right spot, whispering "bathroom break-out" (who came up with these passwords?) and the wall slid away like it was never there. On the other side was a small switch, which he flicked to close the wall just as the bathroom door finally opened.

Heart pounding, Harry checked where the tunnel would come out, a side door in the Entrance Hall that looked like a broom cupboard from the other side spitting him out at the other end. He slipped the cloak and Map in his bag before he opened the door, blinking at the sudden early summer sunshine.

"Mr Potter?"

Harry jumped, looking up to see Severus eyeing him strangely.

"I uh, fell through a trick door. Ended up here. Changing staircases, exam stress. Gotta go!"

He knew he couldn't be seen acting friendly toward the Professor, particularly not in public and hurried off, sticking to the open space of the Grand Staircase until he made it back to the Tower. Vlad was hovering anxiously in the common room, face relaxing at the sight of Harry. He tilted his head to the dormitory, and the vampire followed immediately.

"Are you alright? You look a little flushed."

"Just dodged a body chomper, escaped down a secret tunnel in a bathroom. Ended up all the way in the Entrance Hall, made like a bat outta hell up the stairs. Here I am."

"Are you ok?"

"Fine, I got away unscathed. See?"

Harry held out his arms, Vlad's eyes raking over his body before he was satisfied Harry was unharmed. Again with the worrying.

"Vlad, calm down. I'm _fine_."

"You forget I can hear your heartbeat, and it's unnaturally high. You were scared."

He glared for good measure, but didn't deny it. He had been a little scared.

"Please don't go wandering right now, I'm worried Riddle will pull something this close to summer. I told you, I want to keep you safe."

Not thrilled at the coddling and restriction, but irritatingly he had to agree, Harry nodded. Vlad hugged him, finally comfortable initiating such contact again and Harry patted his back in an attempt at soothing.

Over Vlad's shoulder, he caught Lily looking at the two of them, a knowing smirk somehow on her cheeky little snout. Stupid snake.

* * *

Harry was going to age him prematurely. A big statement for someone with a chronically impaired aging process. Only Vlad could have a mate who was simultaneously going for a walk and risking getting kidnapped or cursed.

Thankfully, a mix of needing to study and Harry apparently wanting to appease Vlad's concerns meant he didn't disappear alone much, and if he wanted a walk Vlad got to go with him. If he squinted past Harry's heterosexuality, Vlad could pretend they were possibly doing couple things. Which, now he thought about it, was utterly pathetic. He did it anyway.

Ingrid's transformation appeared to be going unnoticed, as nobody was asking Vlad if he was a vampire too, and she hadn't blown up the school due to the stress of OWLs. The worst he had seen her do was threaten one of the seventh year Slytherins with "carving out their spleen and eating it as a side dish". Which wasn't _much_ different to Ingrid's idea of a regular conversation really.

Professor Lupin was showing the strain of an upcoming full moon as he congratulated them on every single one passing their Defence Against the Dark Arts exam, their third year tests set by their professor - Lupin had set them a bizarre obstacle course against multiple creatures. Vlad couldn't even _take_ the 'test' when half the creatures would try and tear his face off, nor was he about to face the Boggart at the end.

Even Lupin had given passes to the students with extraordinarily traumatic boggarts, making each of them write a short essay on correct ways of dealing with the creature. Vlad's entire DADA grade was theory based, but he got full marks on the essay, proving he knew how to deal with every creature, even the ones who wanted to assault his species more violently.

Care Of Magical Creatures was a joke of a test - they sat watching a barrels worth of flobberworms slime across the grass while enjoying the June sunshine. Vlad wasn't even really thinking about his birthday, focused on Harry and tests as he was.

Ingrid had every intention of dropping DADA because she hated the werewolf professor, but Dracula pride meant she wouldn't tank the exam - Vlad was prepared to bet she got the top score on the vampire bats question. She _did_ have to take her Potions and Herbology practical tests separately however, to account for 'allergies', as the public excuse went. The same would go for him fifth year, though luckily (or unluckily) his exams came just before his sixteenth.

He wouldn't have gone before the Blood Mirror before his tests, so at least there was no risk of a Fail for eating the examiner. He thought Bertrand was winding him up about that, but he couldn't be sure.

Arithmancy and Ancient Runes tests on the same day were a cruel joke, equations and symbols leaving Vlad with a brain like a slime pit as he slumped across his bed that evening, Phantom licking at his face where it was in easy reach.

"If I see another bandage in my lifetime, unless I'm bleeding from at least three orifices, it will be too soon."

The ones taking Healing were back, and Vlad got a groaning complaint that told of how they had to treat an infected cut, repair a broken limb, identify the correct antivenom for a poisonous bite and how to correctly bandage a dragon burn. Their test dummies had remarkable realism apparently.

"Divination was easy. Make up some stuff about weird dreams, and stare deeply into a crystal ball talking about the future being mysterious. Professor Trelawney likes to ramble about Harry, apparently her 'inner eye' sees much in his future."

"Unless we die in the next week, everyone probably has a lot in their future. Divination is a very woolly subject, you only took it because you expected it to be easy."

"Hermione, how could you? I'll have you know I thought I was a seer when I was three. Turned out I had taken too much cough medicine."

Seamus started laughing at his own story, then jumped up and declared it was dinner time. Eyeing his lunar calendar, Vlad realised it was the full moon. So he didn't expect Professor Lupin to be at dinner.

Harry was still devouring meat and large portions at every meal, but he was also filling out - Vlad frequently found himself watching the developing muscles roll beneath Harry's skin. And he had started eating vegetables again. Most days. Today he went through a whole meat pizza himself, only out-performed by Seamus who ate a whole pizza, then an entire garlic bread and managed to force down a couple of chicken legs too. Vlad felt stuffed just _watching_ them, and ate his shepherds pie quietly while Hermione shot them both disgusted looks.

"He's finally eating properly, don't knock it."

Vlad hissed to her under cover of reaching for a jug of chocolate sauce, and her eyes flicked to Harry before nodding.

"Sorry."

She mouthed back, and Vlad smiled, all forgiven. The summer evening meant the moon wasn't gracing the ceiling of the Great Hall by the time they were done eating, gooey ice cream blocks reduced to sticky stains as everyone tried to ward off the warm weather inside. Chewing absently on a liquorice wand, Vlad realised they were short two students.

As everyone got up to leave, he chanced a look at Slytherin table. Not there either. Ingrid raised an eyebrow, and Vlad mouthed "outside at dusk", getting a quick nod. He yanked Hermione to one side, Harry not quite done with his apple pie so safely still at Gryffindor table.

"Where's Draco?"

"Went to see his godfather."

"You mean the one at the table now?"

Hermione twisted around, looking up at the table. Her face drained of colour when she saw Vlad was right, and panic edged in.

"I would say he could be anywhere, but Jacob and Jason are missing too. Coincidence maybe, but tonight? I don't like it."

Harry was done eating by now, and Vlad made Hermione come along with them - if Draco was in their dorm, he didn't want to be hunting her down to tell her. Sense of dread increasing all the same, they fought through the crowds to the tower, but Draco was nowhere to be seen. His bed was still perfectly made, so he hadn't recently vacated it.

Checking his backpack contained Harry's bag still - with Marauders Map, Vlad mentioned he had left a book in the common room and stopped on an empty stretch of staircase with Hermione.

"I have Harry's Map, I can't use it here but I'll find him on it. I need you to stay and stop Harry following me."

"What if he's... it's a full moon."

"Exactly why I'm going. Alone. They can't turn me. Ingrid's coming with me if I have to go to the forest, speed and strength. Now keep Harry here, stun him if you have to."

Hermione grimaced, but one thing Vlad loved about Hermione was that she was a rational thinker, logic a much stronger trait in her than most, and she could see the validity in his plan.

"Wait. Take this."

Hermione held out her bracelet, one Draco had given her for Valentines Day but she didn't wear regularly.

"Not really my style."

"It's silver you troll."

Vlad slipped it on, for once thankful for his slim wrists and hands as it fit snugly. He left before she could decide to follow him, jumping through the portrait hole and finding the nearest empty classroom.

"I solemly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink spread from his wand tip, filling the parchment with Hogwarts in minuature. Snape and Bertrand's quarters were both empty, and Ingrid was walking towards the main doors - dusk was falling now. He had better get a move on, because he couldn't see a thing other than 'Remus Lupin' and a name he didn't recognise - 'Fenrir Greyback' disappearing into the Forbidden Forest. This close to moonrise, that could not be a coincidence.

"Why doesn't this map cover the useful places? Damn Marauders."

Now he had to make it down seven floors to Ingrid, bolting through a secret passage, then forcing himself to walk normally down the last three flights. Ingrid was leant against one of the pillars in the stone circle, watching the moon begin to rise properly.

"So, what are you up to this time?"

He almost leapt out of his skin when Bertrand crept up behind them, still looking sort of tired but not as ill as before.

"Stroll in the moonlight."

"Well, Draco is missing and Severus is nowhere to be found. You two out at moonrise on a full moon? I believe you are up to something."

"Ever heard of someone called Fenrir Greyback?"

Bertrand froze, looking as though he had to check what Vlad was saying, then indicated they should start walking towards the Forest, cutting near by the greenhouses to cover their direction.

"He's a werewolf. Bitten, as bloodthirsty as any vampire even without a full moon. Intentionally riles up other wolves, and places himself near humans on a full moon. Sees it as his job to infect as many with the curse as possible. And he works for the big bad guy himself - Severus spoke of him. If he's here, that is very, very bad."

Reaching the line of the trees, they looked around, then set off running. Bertrand and Ingrid had to run at human speed for Vlad to keep up, following the potent scent of death and werewolf. The two fanged vampires stopped suddenly, covering their mouths and clutching their chests.

"Argentalium. The garlic keeps us out, and the silver keeps them in. Ingenious."

"Can we compliment the thought process after we're done here?"

There was nothing for it - Vlad was the only one who could cross the line of argentalium, ground up and sprinkled along the floor, he could feel it tugging at his dormant vampirism. Crossing the line, he heard a new set of sounds - the argentalium was a boundary, sectioning off this place specifcally and there were silence spells across it.

"Vladimir! Get back here now!"

Bertrand demanded, but Vlad could hear fearful sounds, human footsteps. He shrugged at the vampires, then clicked dramatically as he placed the invisibilty spell over himself, following the sounds.

Could they go a _term_ without a deathwish?

-YDHP-

 **I've already written the start of next chapter and how this all goes, I just wanted to get the last cliffhanger in Year Three? Please don't hate me.**


	29. Lunar Blood

**I am writing this right after the previous chapter, hoping to keep my mind flowing in it. Not sure I did.**

 **You may or may not have contemplated staking your poor author, I'm sure. There is always a point to Vlad-centric thing here, if you need reminding.**

-YDHP-

Vlad ran towards the sounds, silencing his shoes and slowing down when he heard a scream, focusing on the specific direction it came from. Bertrand and Ingrid were going to tear him limb from limb when he got out - assuming he survived.

A werewolf bite on the full moon wouldn't _turn_ him, but it would **kill** him.

The silver bracelet would act as a deterrent, but it also meant the werewolves would be able to sense his movement as they felt the repelling purity of the metal. Rounding a few trees, he spotted them. There weren't two werewolves, there were **_six._**

Draco had his wand out, and Vlad could see he had a shield charm up but his magic reserve was finite, would not last the whole night like a pack of hungry wolves would. Behind him were both Jacob and Jason, unarmed and by the looks of it utterly terrified. Vlad could sympathise.

"Werewolves only respond to the call of their own kind."

A voice suspiciously like Hermione sounded in his head, and Vlad sincerely hoped he never had to make this noise again. Taking a deep breath, he did his best attempt at a howl.

"Ah-wooooo."

If Draco ever mocked him for this, Vlad would threaten to feed him to a real werewolf. The pack turned to the sound as one, growling and grizzling. One had streaks of auburn in it's silver fur, reminding Vlad of Professor Lupin's greying hair that had probably been a rich brown colour. All werewolves had the same amber-coloured eyes, but one was clearly full of fight. Lupin took wolfsbane potion, why was he wild tonight in the first place?

Oh, right. Half a dozen wolves advancing. Vlad should have a plan. Backing up as they sniffed at the air, his back hit a tree. Could werewolves climb? He was about to find out. A lightening charm on his shoes boosted his jump enough to grab a branch, spotting thick enough limbs that he could probably get to where Draco and the twin boys were still cowering.

He had to distract the pack first.

"Diffindo" he grimaced as the charm cut through the skin on his forearm, deeper than he meant to but there was blood spilling out. Instantly attracted, the wolves surrounded the puddle on leaves and Vlad hurried across the trees, ignoring the pain of his bleeding forearm.

The largest wolf, which Vlad assumed was Greyback just because, followed the trail dripping from tree to tree, dangerously close to where Vlad was directly above the trapped students.

" _Wingardium Leviosa_!"

It would have been great if he could have warned them, because several high pitched screams drew attention like moths to a flame as the twins flew straight up. Vlad hastened to sit them on a couple of branches, but their screams and his slowed reactions from pain had cost them.

Draco's pained scream cut through Vlad like a knife, yellowish and bloody teeth sinking deep into his forearm. Lifting the invisibility charm, he turned to the twins.

"No matter what, stay here. Stay hidden. And put this on."

They watched as Vlad threw the cloak at them, eyes wide with fear as they pulled it over themselves. Holding his forearm up slightly to try and slow the blood loss, he held his wand out at the wolf biting Draco.

" _Incendio_!"

He had been having trouble with overpowered fire charms on and off for weeks, and it showed as flames engulfed both the wolf's face and Draco's arm. Gritting his teeth, Vlad lunged and caught soft underbelly as he shoved hard, the wolf finally letting go so he could grab Draco. A silent dousing charm put out the fire, smell of burnt skin unpleasant but at least the boy was _alive._

"I'm taking lessons from first years!"

Vlad thought as he mumbled a _spongify_ charm, bouncing up to the tree tops and cancelling the charm before a savvy werewolf worked it out. He wasn't great at Healing, but he had potions in his bag. Draco was (probably mercifully) out cold, but Vlad could hear his heart pound, see his chest rise and fall in the bright moonshine as he dug for a Wiggenweld potion, a good general Healing potion.

 _Draco Malfoy was going to be a werewolf._

He forced that concern away, using his innate levitation skills to keep Draco afloat in the awkwardness of treetops as he swallowed a little potion himself, his forearm bleeding slowing. He had to tug Draco's jaw open, pour potion in and massage his throat to make him swallow. The burns started to heal, though they needed more expert care. He poured a dreamless sleep down after, to ensure Draco wouldn't wake through the pain until he could get back to the school.

"Boys? Either of you have your wand?"

"No" was hissed back, so Vlad had to think around it.

"Here, use mine. I don't need it. He should stay put, but use a levitation if Draco falls. I need to separate those wolves. Are there any adults here?"

"There were some that brought us here, I don't know where they went."

Swallowing some Replenisher and pocketing the rest of his potion vials, Vlad shrunk his backpack down and braced himself.

"When the moon starts to go down, you'll have about five minutes while they change back. Go that way and keep going, hex anyone in your way until you find my sister and our tutor."

"What about you?"

"If I'm alive by dawn, I'll worry then. Stay safe and get yourselves out ok?"

A mild Impediment jinx would hopefully keep Draco in place, Vlad didn't want to use ropes in case Jacob or Jason, whoever had taken his wand under the cloak, couldn't undo them.

"Oi you mangy dogs, come get some!"

Vlad scrambled to the next tree, hanging from one branch perilously to ensure he had their attention. They knew they were hunting a vampire now, would be further determined to tear him to pieces even if they couldn't actually eat him.

He was beginning to worry - he couldn't keep this up indefinitely, and there were at least six hours of night to go. He really needed to think through his plans more sometime.

Large, leathery wings obscured the moonlight for a moment, and the wolves scattered as what Vlad recognised to be a Thestral landed in their clearing, bony nostrils flaring as it sniffed around where Vlad had bled.

 _Of course._

"Do you understand me? Can you get them out of here?"

He was talking to a horse skeleton with wings. Apparently blood loss made him delirious.

The wolves tried to advance, but scattered again when the Thestral spread its wings and made a very strange sound. He could only describe it as a death rattle. It trotted under where Vlad was clinging dangerously, and he took a shot by dropping down onto it's back. The weight didn't even seem to jostle it, managing to keep Vlad perfectly steady as it swatted off the wolves again.

"Boys, I'm going to try and get under you. You need to take off the cloak though."

"You said not to!"

"For anyone but me, get a move on!"

The cloak vanished so Vlad could guide his new friend under the tree, floating Draco down and actually using some binding to hold him in place.

"Now you two. Leave the cloak there, I'll get it."

He held up a hand to guide them, shaky with adrenaline as the two clung to something Vlad now realised they could see. That was a chat for another day. They couldn't all fit, as Vlad had to climb back up in to the tree.

"There should be another vampire or two nearby. Take them there, please?"

The Thestral licked at Vlad's outstretched, bloodied hand, then turned and flapped enormous wings before galloping off at a fierce speed. Really, he should be escaping, but sentiment was getting the better of him - if he left Remus Lupin here, the man would be dead by dawn with his present 'company'. Harry cared about this man. He had to try.

The burnt werewolf was back up, blackened fur and raw looking burns already beginning to heal - one of the few advantages to being bitten by a werewolf was a rapid healing process. Trying to work out what he was going to do, it soon transpired he was attracting attention from more Thestrals, the bloodied puddle on the ground surrounded by no less than four of them now.

Picking out Lupin (he hoped), Vlad contemplated his options. Wrapping the cloak around his shoulders so he wouldn't lose it, he whistled to the Thestrals. One trotted over to him rather eagerly, rattling away to scatter the wolves.

"I have to save one of them. Do you understand me?"

He got a rattle in return, but the Thestral didn't leave. Hoping that signified understanding, Vlad dropped onto it's back and knelt awkwardly - keeping legs out of wolf teeth range. Not much could subdue the beasts, they were resistent to most magic because of sheer power and instinct. Vlad had to hope the frequent usage of Wolfsbane potion would at least slow Lupin down as he picked him out, fired every stunning/slowing/petrifying charm he could think of at him, then summoned the hopefully unconscious wolf to him.

The _stench_ was overpowering up close, but Vlad still shifted to use the cloak for cover, then leant down and mumbled to his new friend.

"Hogsmeade. Shrieking Shack."

Holding a werewolf, an invisibilty cloak and trying to stay on a powerful flying creature was probably his finest achievement to date, a few twitches from the furry creature worrying Vlad as they reached the Shack.

"Thank you. You had better skidaddle, but I will come visit you guys for sure. I owe you my life."

He reached a hand to the bony beak-like face, patting it and got a softened rattle in return. Making a note to befriend these intelligent, beautiful creatures at a later date, Vlad used a couple of unlocking charms and sighed in relief, levitating the werewolf in front of him up to the most trashed room he had seen before.

"Please be built in protection."

Was all he could think as they crossed the threshold, then he stepped back and slammed the door closed just in time for Lupin to wake up, ramming into the door but Vlad could feel wards in place.

The adrenaline wearing off made him feel weakened, dropping to lean against a wall with his head against his knees. Draco had been bitten, they would probably all have died if not for the Thestrals coming to their rescue. He felt sick and weakened by the argentalium exposure, blood loss and cold hard fear.

Fumbling for a pepper up, he felt some of the exhaustion lift and settled in for the duration. Dawn had never been so welcome, and Vlad almost... almost felt bad for the pained screams the other side of the door. Maybe when he hadn't almost been killed by wolves, compassion could begin.

He pushed the door open, finding the twisted, naked, bloodied and bruised body of his Defence Against The Dark Arts professor. He pulled out several healing potions, a couple of energising and a replenisher, lining them up and finding some nearby bits of fabric to transfigure into basic clothing and a blanket, which he tossed over the werewolf to save both of their blushes.

"Vampire!"

"Yes, vampire who pulled you out of the Forest to save your sorry ass. Drink up, you need to get out of here."

Lupin blinked foggily, recognising and swallowing pain potions and healing potions like a burning man drinking water. His injuries healed before Vlad's eyes, then he turned to let the man dress in shapeless jumper and trousers.

"Clothes aren't my strong suit but I thought it better than you escaping naked."

"Werewolf time is always blurry, what happened?"

"There were six of you, and three students. Draco Malfoy was bitten, not by you but you can't stay here. It'll get out what you are, and Harry would miss you when a lynch mob kills you. So drink those, and go hide with Black. I'll talk to Dumbledore, I'm sure he will get your things to you."

"Was anyone killed?"

"I set a wolf on fire and he got back up, but Draco's bite was probably the worst of it."

"You're hurt."

"Self inflicted distraction. The sooner you get lost, the sooner I can go get healed."

Lupin nodded, finishing the line of glass vials and shuddering visibly as they worked their way through.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Harry."

For a moment, he was stunned silent.

"I was wrong about you. You are good for him."

As long as he was alive, Harry would probably want this wolf in his life. Vlad had to make a little effort he supposed, taking the outstretched hand.

"Don't make me regret it."

* * *

Harry was roughly woken by... Ingrid Dracula? at about one in the morning, finding Hermione in the empty common room and the two dragged along to the Hospital Wing. Jacob and Jason looked shaken but relatively unharmed, being harangued into dreamless sleep by Madam Pomfrey before his very eyes.

"Is Vlad here?"

"No. We couldn't get to him. Come through here."

That sounded extremely very bad, cold fear trickling down his spine. Lay on the bed, bloodied and unconscious, was Draco. Hermione gave a strangled cry, spying the thick bandage being peeled off his forearm gently.

"Was he? Is that a..."

"He was bitten, according to the twins. Vlad was alive last they saw him, but he attracted a Thestral and used it to deliver these three to us. Whoever rigged this used argentalium, so-"

"You couldn't get through, and the wolves couldn't escape. Vlad told us about it."

Hermione somehow remembered that as she watched her newly-werewolf boyfriend being treated, while Harry went slowly out of his mind worrying about Vlad. Not that Vlad was his boyfriend, but he was the most important person in his life.

"So he's out there alone? With werewolves?"

"They can't turn him, and if Vlad hadn't gone through the argentalium these three" Bertrand indicated Draco, then out towards the door Jacob and Jason slept behind "would be dead. It's a miracle they aren't all dead."

"And what if he's dead?"

"You think I'm _not_ aware that I let a student run headlong into danger? That Ingrid isn't aware her brother is in danger?"

Mollified slightly, Harry shut up. If he tried to go out there Bertrand would stop him dead. All he could do was wait. Draco didn't come around before dawn, and Hermione fell asleep in the bedside chair, holding the non-bitten arms hand of her boyfriend. Harry paced, and Dumbledore and McGonogall appeared at around 5 in the morning. No sign of Severus, which perplexed Harry.

"Vladimir Dracula? _Again_?"

"Argentalium and short on time. As soon as he crossed the line there was no chance of us retrieving him, and had we left the Thestral would not have been able to deliver the students to us. Then the priority was getting Draco medical attention."

Their head of house went rather pale as she saw the bite, realising her student was now infected.

"Hold on, Thestral?"

McGonogall must have been very emotionally frayed, using abbreviated sentences and all sorts.

"Vladimir tied unconscious Draco to a Thestral, then got the twins on the same one and sent it running to us. Innovative, no? This was after he apparently separated the werewolf and Draco by setting it on fire."

"Dawn is breaking, _by the way_. If you were thinking of going to find the wolves and my brother in the Forest, since I can't."

A rare show of caring, Ingrid was obviously worried about Vlad now, heavily lacing words with intent.

"No need. I mean, find the wolves by all means, but I'm here."

Everyone had turned round by then, finding a bloodied, exhausted and for some reason, covered in silvery-brown hair Vlad.

"You're alive?"

"I think so. I'm so full of potions I can't be certain. Is Draco alive?"

Madam Pomfrey nodded, and Bertrand replied.

"Thanks to you."

Vlad offered them a tired sort of smile, then stumbled and reached for the nearest solid thing, which happened to be Harry. Madam Pomfrey tried to shoo him away but Vlad clung on, swaying on the spot.

"Are you hurt?"

"Bruised from trees. Uh, I cut my arm to bleed and distract the werewolves. Burnt my hand a little shoving the burning one off Draco."

Harry finally managed to guide Vlad to the nearest bed, though the vampire didn't relinquish his grip on Harry for a few minutes, grounding himself.

"If you give me an energiser so I can shower the smell of werewolf off me, I will tell you everything."

Madam Pomfrey huffed, healed the cut on his arm, the burn on his hand and handed him the yellow liquid he asked for. The effect was instantaneous, Vlad's energy returning and he hopped off the bed, running off into the bathroom like everyone wasn't half out of their minds.

He reappeared in clean clothes and looking nothing like he had had a long night running from monsters. By this time they were relocating to Draco's room, which was magically widened to fit a table for everyone to sit around, a couple of house elves delivering light breakfast snacks and hot drinks.

"I noticed Draco wasn't at dinner, and then Jacob and Jason were missing too. Saw Professor Lupin heading to the Forest with some big ugly furball."

 _Professor Lupin was a werewolf?_

"Ingrid and Bertrand came with me to check, and it was apparent pretty fast it was a set up, because argentalium is a very specific thing to use, keeping the only creatures powerful enough to fight off a werewolf seperate whilst trapping the wolves in. I found half a dozen surrounding Draco and the twins, but he couldn't fight them off all night. Used the trees to get close, bled on the floor to attract them."

Vlad stopped for a mouthful of tea, eyes downcast.

"I got the twins up, but in my distraction Draco got bitten. I should have been faster."

"Vlad, you saved three people from six werewolves. Without a wand, which is out there by the way."

That was Hermione, who had apparently been listening in from her spot.

"But he got bitten."

"He's alive. They all are. They wouldn't be if you hadn't ran across that line. Now finish the story."

"Right. I told the twins to stay in the tree, and I knew I wasn't strong enough to break the grip of his teeth, so I did the first thing that came to mind and set him on fire. I think it was Greyback that bit Draco, it definitely wasn't Lupin."

There was his confirmation.

"Draco was bleeding, so I gave him dreamless sleep to knock him out, wiggenweld to try and stop him bleeding to death. I told the twins to wait until the wolves started changing back, because they would have five minutes while they recovered from the change, and to get out. That's why I gave them my wand, whoever put them there took theirs. Then, this Thestral comes along, probably because I was bleeding all over the place."

Another sip of tea, everyone hanging on his every word.

"The wolves are scared of Thestrals by the way. It chased them away from the tree we were hiding up, and let me put them on it's back. Told it to get them to Ingrid and Bertrand. Wasn't room for all of us and I wasn't going to win a speed contest with six werewolves. So, while I was contemplating how not to get eaten, another Thestral came along, chasing them off. I used every spell I could think of to knock Lupin out, took him to the Shack on the back of a Thestral, waited for him to transform and told him to get the hell out. That's why I didn't get back until morning, I spent a couple of hours just sat waiting."

"You _saved_ a _werewolf?_ "

Ingrid was incredulous, but Vlad just shrugged.

"He's important to Harry, and not a follower of Doctor Evil last I checked. I worried they would kill him if I left him there."

Vlad risked his life to save Remus Lupin, a werewolf who had been biased to his vampirism from day one. _For Harry._

"You're an idiot."

"Love you too sis."

Now the danger had abated, Ingrid's visible concern had too.

"You students may stay here for the morning. Miss Granger is clearly immobile. Miss Dracula, I would suggest you be visible at breakfast, for appearances sake."

Ingrid rolled her eyes, then pointed out the teachers should move too before anyone noticed their absence. Vlad hugged a protesting Ingrid, then let them leave and flopped back into his chair, chewing absently on a slice of toast and trying to ward off Madam Pomfrey and her drugs until he had at least eaten.

"Oh, here Hermione. It helped, thank you."

Vlad slipped a bracelet off his wrist, then handed it back to her delicately.

"Hmm. He'll be allergic to this now. At least until I cure him."

Vlad's face creased in confusion, looking sad and guilty a second later.

"You can't cure lycanthropy."

Hermione glared angrily at the thick bandages obscuring the large bite mark on Draco's arm, eyes hard and determined.

"Yet."

-YDHP-

 **One more chapter of Year Three! Year Four is liable to be longer, do you guys still want it posted in one story? Year Five will definitely be separate, as pretty sure there will be a ratings change!**


	30. Ordered Chaos

**YokaiAngel - I cannot remember the last time I heard badass used! Thank you very much!**

 **shadowcat200 - I can't answer to confirm or deny without handing out a big bag of spoilers for... most of year four? so you'll have to hang on for the ride! There isn't a set day, no. I aim to update weekly but I also sort of lose track of days of the week... If I had to pick a day it would be Saturday. Maybe Sunday... And obviously thanks for the review!**

-YDHP-

Draco Malfoy was a werewolf.

Harry was still struggling to get his head around that. He couldn't imagine what Hermione and Draco were going through, and this was all on top of keeping it a secret from the rest of the school. Draco was jumpy, desolate and it was lucky the school year was almost over, though they were trying to work out how to deal with his first full moon. The only thing Harry found almost funny was that his 'brother' now ate like Harry - heavy on the meat, followed by a lot of sugar.

Professor McGonogall had given Draco the freedom to decide if he was going to tell the other three of their dorm mates, which was still an unresolved issue as they packed up for the Leaving Feast. Harry folded his clothes mechanically, an unopened letter from Sirius and Remus - Vlad said he had sent their professor to the other escapee - weighing on his mind.

"First day of the week. Drink this."

He looked up to see Vlad pushing a slightly smoking glass into Draco's unresisting hand.

"It doesn't work the first transformation. You know that."

"Hermione's orders. Take it up with your girlfriend. And my sister, since she's the one who helped make it."

Harry supposed that was as close to acceptance as Ingrid would offer - from a vampire to a werewolf, that was still a big deal. He watched as Draco sipped it, cringed and sighed.

"Seven days a month for the rest of my life. Allergic to silver! I'm a Malfoy, this is madness. Then there's the joy of tearing myself to shreds every full moon. Premature aging. Limited life expectancy."

"I said I was sorry."

Vlad was still carrying a metric tonne of guilt for 'letting' Draco get turned, and while Harry sympathized that Draco had every right to be upset about the turning, he probably shouldn't be complaining to the one who had stopped him being eaten alive. He caught the blond boys look of realisation as Vlad turned away, shoulders set in a hard line.

"You know I don't mean that. You didn't put me in that clearing, and you certainly didn't have to come and save me."

"So you've said. I still wasn't fast enough to stop it happening."

Neither got chance to say more before Vlad left, though Harry would bet his Cloak Vlad was waiting in the common room for Harry anyway. Draco watched after him, downed the rest of his Wolfsbane potion and left the cup on the middle table for the house elves to pick up. It was still smoking slightly, even empty ad Draco swallowed some pumpkin juice from the nearest bottle.

"That was gross. Unfortunately, any sort of labouring or sugar has been found to make it useless. Alas, we should get going before Vlad has a coronary down in the common room. You all packed?"

"Yep, just Lily's tank but she's currently sleeping in it."

Tonight's pyjamas and tomorrows clothes were each folded on top of their trunks, as they weren't leaving until the morning. Flipping open the Marauders Map, Harry gave the route to the Feast a cursory scan to check for the students out for him. Most of them were already near or in the Hall for now, and the ones not present were... in Severus' quarters.

Harry did muse the man had been exceptionally uptight lately, even more so than usual. It could well be put down to his adoptive son almost dying, and permanently afflicted with a chronic... disease wasn't the word, but Harry wasn't sure calling it a _curse_ was fair on Draco. Or Remus. Who Harry was still ignoring the letter from. Which was a little daft, because Harry had taken two weeks to write to him to begin with, and had only managed to write "you're a werewolf?".

He understood Vlad not telling him, even though the vampires **had** to have known since the Hogwarts Express. It wasn't his secret to share. Remus Lupin had _no excuse,_ especially after his song and dance about Vlad being a vampire.

"Harry? You unpacking up there or something? Everyones gone down."

He checked - even Vlad was on his way down to the Great Hall, accompanied by first year lions. Checking his Cloak was tucked into the charmed pocket of his jumper, Harry wiped the Map and pocketed it.

"Sorry, I was doing a hazard check. All good. Let's go."

Draco gave him a bemused look, rubbing at his left forearm where the bite would scar forever. No magic could heal it, and concealing charms would wear off faster due to the 'cursed' nature of the scarring. When they were discussing that in the Hospital Wing at Draco's check up, Ingrid had smacked them both around the head, then proceeded to use her muggle make-up collection to conceal it almost flawlessly. When the thicker ridges of tissue were stretched out flat as Draco grew, he could probably completely cover it.

If only all the effects of that night had been so easy to deal with.

Vlad went trekking through the Forest with Hagrid several times, cleaning up the argentalium powder and checking for further traps. He also went to befriend the Thestrals that had saved all the innocent lives that night. Harry had gone a couple of times, and Vlad had mocked Harry for watching the raw meat Thestrals ate with a longing look. He stopped going after that, satisfied Vlad could take care of himself against some relatively tame creatures if he had handled six werewolves.

"Congratulations to you all for surviving your exams this school year, and for the efforts made towards unity. I urge this attitude to continue the next school year also. Please continue to excercise caution, particularly against threats outside these walls."

The Headmaster may as well have said 'don't get killed by Voldemort', but the message was clear all the same.

"Strive to stick together, each and every one of you. Those who seek to break us can only do so if we allow it. And now, on to the Feast!"

Feeling a little like he was reeling from whiplash at the sudden topic changer, Harry watched as food materialised before their eyes. Vlad was still low judging by the way he picked at his vegetables, but Harry and Draco's appetites knew little limit and they both ate far, far too much.

"Honestly, I don't know where you put it all. Even Mr Posh has picked up your wolfing down everything in sight. He does have slightly better manners though."

Dean pointed out, and there was a very tense moment where Draco choked as he said the word "wolfing", which was played off shakily by the blond saying - hoarsely, after coughing up a potato - that he that he didn't realise he was 'Mr Posh'. Dean sheepishly returned his interest to his burger, and everyone tried not to notice George spreading blackberry jam on her steak. Harry didn't understand her at all. And she had ruined a perfectly good steak.

"George, seriously?"

"What? People put apple in sausages. That's properly weird."

Jason looked perplexed, but laughed shortly after a few seconds. The twins were still quite unsettled by their adventures, and had a whole new hero worship for Vlad. Left confused by her bizarre logic, everyone went back to ignoring George and her strange food habits.

His dreams about Solace Slytherin had not gone, but most of them had been fairly tame so Harry had taken the last two weeks dreamless sleep free. Even if he had still ended up seeking Vlad out in the early hours twice. Vlad never complained, never let on to the others and always kept his curtains closed. Still, his dream that night was utterly unsettling in a whole new way.

 _"What do you mean, the Malfoy boy lives?"_

 _"I mean, My Lord, your plan to have him before the wolves out on the full moon was successful. However, respectfully, the fact the youngest vampire could cross the line was unaccounted for. And Greyback lured the children out too, drawing further attention to us and our plan."_

 _" **Crucio!** "_

 _He watched dispassionately as the underling twisted and screamed in pain. Vladimir Dracula was becoming a serious threat to his patience. Though invisible, he had suspicions about Potter's survival of the Killing Curse being down to the vampire boy taking the hit. Or there was more to the irritating urchin who had evaded his grasp... No. He didn't miss things. Impossible._

 _"The vampire boy shows promise. Leave his sister be, as undoubtedly an attempt on her would drive him further away. If we turn him, then Harry Potter will be mine solely through cunning. Brute force is so uncouth. Order the Hogwarts students to keep watch on Potter and the Draculas, but not to outright attack. I have plans_ _. Stress my **displeasure** for orders not obeyed. Dismissed."_

 _The morons hanging on his every word scattered, and he summoned Greyback to him. The beast had some utility, blood thirsty and soulless, but he was at best a rabid dog who could use a wand._

 _"My Lord?"_

 _" **Crucio**!"_

 _Even in human form, his sounds of pain were howls. He held the curse for longer than usual, savouring the agony beneath his wand. Eventually he had to stop before the half breed became little more than a drooling sap._

 _"I warned you Greyback, to follow the plan. So why am I hearing that the attack on the Malfoy boy was interrupted, discovered even, because of your idiocy and gluttony?"_

 _"I c-c-can't h-help myself, My Lord. Children are j-j-just delicious."_

 _The tremors wracked him, but even through the pain it was clear he was thinking of getting to feast on the flesh of a young human._

 _"I t-turned the Malfoy boy."_

 _"Oh? And yet you failed to kill him? **Crucio!** "_

 _More agonised howls. Pushing just past the edge of most humans endurance, he released the curse again._

 _"The D-d-dracula boy." Gasps for air, then a wet spitting sound as the werewolf coughed up blood. "He set my head on fire, then burned me with s-s-silver. The response to escape was instantaneous. I-I-I realise my failure was unforgivable all the s-same."_

 _Tracing one pale finger around the carved wooden detail of his thrones armrest, Voldemort contemplated the words. Greyback was too easy really, excessive pain and empty promises and he jumped at the chance. Snapping his fingers, a fresh set of robes were tossed next to the trembling wreck on the floor. Only the amusing images and explanation for the new burns kept Greyback alive that night._

 _"Do not fail me again. Leave."_

 _Why was he surrounded by idiots? He needed a better class of follower. While the vampire plan slowly laid itself out, he turned his attentions elsewhere. When the time was right, he would go for his best lieutenants._

Shaking, sickened and feeling the phantom pains of the Cruciatus curse, Harry woke in quite a state. When he inevitably ended up seeking Vlad, the other boy was still awake, staring up at the canopy of his bed until Harry's face appeared through his curtains.

"Bad dream?"

"Riddle. Cruciatus."

Vlad knew Harry _felt_ the curse when it was used in his dreams, reaching to his bedside table for a painkiller. After a second, he also pulled out a dreamless sleep. Harry was resistant but Vlad eventually coaxed it down his throat, and Harry was asleep almost before he was horizontal again.

"Where's Harry?"

"I don't know, it's too early for thinking. Breakfast!"

Harry really needed to start closing his bedcurtains, so their dorm mates wouldn't wonder where he was constantly. Groggy with the sleep potion, he found Vlad looking far too alert for the morning hour, clearly waiting for him to wake up - Harry was lying half across him. Cheeks heating slightly as he constantly invaded his friends space, Harry rolled over to free Vlad.

"Seamus was up and dressed before Vlad. Isn't that a sign of the apocalypse?"

"Hilarious Neville. I struggled to get to sleep last night."

Harry lay awkwardly hiding until Vlad reappeared, dressed and with Lily wrapped around his neck.

"Rooms clear. I'll pack her tank and wait for you in the common room."

"Wizard, the vampire is insistent I relocate to his backpack with the furball."

"It's only for breakfast Lily, we're leaving today remember? Anyway, Phantom is always warm."

His familiar huffed, then slunk down along Vlad's arm. At Harry's nod the vampire produced his backpack from the side of his bedside table, which Phantoms furry head was visible in. Lily slithered in, definitely larger than the start of the school year as Vlad joked he may have to increase the enlargement charms.

"Is the vampire insulting me?"

"No, he's complimenting your growth spurt. Go to sleep Lily, I'll be back after breakfast."

As he dressed, Harry realised he actually had some muscles now. Not a lot, but all the Quidditch and eating and puberty seemed to finally be doing something for him - the shirt he put on fit snugly around his arms, rather than hanging slightly loose on his matchsticks like before.

"Are you sewing up there? Come on, we're the only Gryffindor students up here. Rumours will be rife."

"Be honest Vlad, they already are."

* * *

 _But they aren't true. I want them to be._

Vlad felt the ache in his chest, passing it off as his scar when Harry came down to find him swallowing a painkiller. He had seen Harry thinking he had been preventing Vlad leaving his bed that morning. He had, but not physically. Vlad just couldn't bring himself to move an inch when his mate looked so beautiful curled up against his chest. It was lucky Harry was out of it on dreamless sleep, or he probably would have noticed Vlad's heart doing backflips.

"Look who finally decided to grace us lesser mortals with his presence."

"Shut up and eat your kippers Seamus."

George was feeling tame this morning, the most extreme part of her breakfast being a bacon-crumpet-pancake sandwich. Given that Harry and Draco were apparently fighting for some kind of sausage eating record, Vlad felt exceptionally _normal_ with his cornflakes.

Out of the corner of his eye, Vlad caught Bertrand looking very confused. Following his eyeline, he saw their Potions professor excusing himself from the meal early, though that could have been for a multitude of reasons. Still, Bertrand should probably have known about it.

As they were leaving by portkey again, they had their trunks shrunk down and pocketed, and Bertrand made the run for Vlad's backpack through the empty halls - far quicker than Vlad, and much less likely to be followed than Ingrid. Hermione waved them off, saying she needed to go see her family was safe but would be at Malfoy Manor soon, clinging to her boyfriend in a way that made Vlad jealous he couldn't do the same to Harry.

"Go before it's suspicious, we have to leave earlier so anyone who checks the train realises Harry is long gone. Take care of yourself."

They were all sort of looking away to give the couple their 'moment', but Ingrid's expression reflected Vlad's feelings perfectly. Both stood painfully close to their mates who didn't, who _couldn't_ want them.

"Come on."

They hurried through a side tunnel to the dungeons, better to avoid the Slytherin students starting to finish breakfast. Coming out a corridor away from Snape's quarters, they kept a wary eye out and Bertrand gave the password to allow them entry.

The quarters were _empty_.

"Where is he?"

"Hold on."

Harry produced his Marauders Map, watching the ink spread, thin and spider-like from his wand until Hogwarts was revealed. Bertrand and Ingrid were faster, so they scanned it before shaking their heads.

"He's not on the Map at all?"

"Well he can't be at Malfoy Manor either. The alarm spells would have told me... Ingrid, do you have that detection spell?"

He watched Ingrid mentally inventory where the information was, then she rooted through her inside pocket and produced a sheet of parchment. They had wanted to find better ways of detecting who had been in the dorm or anywhere near Harry, and Ingrid had found a spell that detected magical signatures, a sort of after effect left by using magic.

"Stay here."

Thankful he had been the one to get the portkey from Professor McGonogall, Vlad quickly popped himself to Malfoy Manor. The wards were different, he could **feel** it. Looking around the room, he spotted the house elves all stood in a line, some with injuries still healing and Dobby clutching an envelope.

"Master Severus requested you have this Master Vladimir."

When Vlad touched it, it split into two - one said Vlad, the other said Bertrand. Pocketing them and thanking the elf, Vlad cast the spell. Severus Snape's signature was there, but dim. He had been there, but used very little magic.

"Do you know if anyone else is here?"

"Just us Master Vlad. The bad men left. We was told to say nothing more, it be in the note."

"Alright. Thank you. Can you heal yourselves? That looks painful."

"We was ordered not to."

"Well, I'm ordering you to do it. Many white furnishings, blood will stain."

A flurry of high pitched squeaking conversation and bursts of light ensued, and Vlad felt better seeing they were all healed and hopefully no longer in pain.

"I'll be back soon, is the silver room set up?"

"Indeed. Master Draco will be contained."

"Alright. While I get the others, I need every book on werewolves, Wolfsbane potion and ingredient interaction you can find in the Library, stacked and ready. Don't worry if it takes up much too space."

Certain he was about to be yelled at, Vlad popped back to Hogwarts.

"Malfoy Manor is clear. Now. There were visitors. And we were left these."

Handing Bertrand his envelope, Vlad flipped open his own. There wasn't much written for him - a quick itinary for how the wards were changed to bar Severus' own entry - to ensure nobody could come along for the ride. And a second note with Draco's name on, which made Vlad wonder if he had been prepared in advance. Had he known something was happening?

"Here."

Draco flipped the parchment open, scanning it in blatant confusion.

"Definitely him that wrote them?"

Vlad would have answered Harry, but Bertrand did it for him.

"Absolutely. The last lines of mine are essentially instructions to keep watch over Draco, and he wrote them in French. He may well stake me for saying it, but I don't think Severus _ever_ admitted to anyone he liked when I spoke my native tongue to him."

"More than I **ever** needed to know, but fair point."

"Mine's a warning not to try and find him, for my own safety. Why... why would he do this?"

"Not here. Let's go to the manor, we can talk there and I can ensure the wards are right. I don't trust Hogwarts security much right now."

The portkey carried them along, landing heavily in the foyer and suddenly besieged by house elves.

"The library be all set up as you asked Master Vlad!"

"Master Draco should we prepare meals yet?"

Harry was the one to subtly ask them to hang back, and possibly make some calming tea for Draco.

"From what I can feel, they are all as he said. I might recast a few, but I think we are safe enough for now."

"Why would he leave?"

Vlad didn't blame Draco for being upset - in the space of only a couple of years he had almost been killed by his parents multiple times, fought to have a parental guardian who actually cared for his well-being, only to be seemingly abandoned _again_.

"I don't think he had a choice."

Draco turned panicked grey eyes to Vlad, clearly itching for an explanation. **Any** explanation.

"He set this up, all of it. Taught Ingrid to make Wolfsbane for you even though it wouldn't work first full moon, recast the wards, left notes. Best guess is something to force his hand was used, and he did his best to mitigate the upheaval."

"I concur. He signed over Draco's guardianship and vault controls to me, which can't have been easy. Particularly with the goblins, who don't _exactly_ like me."

"But what? What could force him to join the bad guys? He would die first, surely?"

Harry had a good point, but right now they needed to convince a newly turned werewolf not to get himself killed trying to find his godfather.

"We won't know until we find him, but that's going to be tricky right now. I think... I think we have to wait to go after him. If they were going to kill him, Voldemort wouldn't have done it in secret. He would have made an example of it. Wherever he is, he's alive. We will find him Draco, just, not right now."

The closest to Draco, Harry steered him into the next room, Bertrand following. Vlad looked at Ingrid, wishing he didn't have to say it.

"Be careful. If Draco gets any hint of you know what with you know who" he felt ridiculous but Draco's senses were sharpening, he couldn't risk them being overheard as he whispered "what do you think he's going to assume?"

Ingrid's jaw tightened, and Vlad knew better than to expect an answer. At least, one that didn't include several threats and expletives in Romanian. If Draco had _any_ inkling of Ingrid and Bertrand, he would assume that had driven his godfather away. Vlad doubted that completely - Severus Snape wouldn't abandon Draco for the sake of his boyfriend having a vampiric link to Ingrid. He would kick Bertrand out and continue on with his life. Still, Draco was emotionally devastated, logic wouldn't come in to it.

The rest of the morning was quiet, trunks settled in rooms, and familiars left to roam. Phantom still showed no adverse reaction to Draco, clambering into his lap and purring. Apparently even as a werewolf, he could still be totally not evil to the insane little Bastion.

"When do you have to leave?"

"Tonight. Told dad everyone was leaving in the afternoon. Need to find a cleaning charm that masks the smell of werewolf or he's gonna go bats."

"Hold on, I have one. Father hated the smell but occasionally visited the werewolf fight rings at the full moon. The ministry has supposedly stopped them all, though I doubt it myself."

"That's disgusting. Thanks."

Draco scrawled out a charm on a napkin - laughing to himself about defacing it - which Vlad mumbled to himself a few times before Ingrid and Bertrand both sniffed him. That was a little strange.

"Yeah, I'd say that works."

Ingrid cast the spell over herself, and Vlad resigned himself to Harry smelling like werewolf on occasion forever now. As he couldn't hate Draco - Draco didn't care he was a biter, and it was Vlad's fault for not being fast enough to save him from being bitten.

They recast the cleaning charms before they left, after Ingrid watched Draco drink that days dose of Wolfsbane potion and Harry hugged them both goodbye. Even against Ingrid's protests.

Thru portkeyed to Stokely Castle, and Vlad felt the now expected pain in his chest, but even so he noticed Ingrid rub absently at her own. He knew what it was, the sense of a hole ripped clean through lungs. Ingrid may not _need_ her lungs anymore, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt.

"Want one?"

Vlad held out a painkiller, trying to make as little a deal out of it as possible so Ingrid wouldn't feel mocked or belittled, weak for needing to dull the pain. She eventually took it, grimacing at the taste. It was one of his stronger potions, which Vlad realised he now lacked a brewer to make more of. Bats.

"Vladdy! You've finally come back to me! I could have wasted away and you would know nought, abandoning me all this time for that wretched school."

Grimacing, Vlad stood as his father patted down his face and pinched a cheek, exclaiming he had grown ("a whole inch, now he's the same size as the first year girls!" from Ingrid). Vlad was growing - he was currently the tallest in their dorm, but that was vampirism, the others would catch up as they reached maturity. He would just reach his majority sooner.

"Dad, we've been over this. Once I'm seventeen and graduated, you'll see me more often for all eternity, but I _have_ to go to school."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say my son. Renfield! Prepare something edible for once!"

Rolling his eyes as the adult vampire draped his arm around Vlad's shoulder, cooing and going on and on and _on,_ Vlad's heart, mind and soul were all back at Malfoy Manor with Harry.

-YDHP-

 **And we are done with Year Three. Year Four will be continued here, Year Five will not. But that's a while off yet!**


	31. First Moon

**I am in shock we've made it to Year Four. Chosen Two is already** ** _eighty_** **chapters long! I adore each and every one of you who's read this, encouraged me to keep going and forgiven that I'm a wreck with limited talent. Every review makes my year! And I love that this was all inspired by an offhand comment of "they would both be the Chosen One!" by a friend. Well, let's get on with it!**

 **Apologies for the late update, a close friend was sick and I spent four days taking care of them instead of writing. With any luck, service will resume as normal now.**

-YDHP-

Draco was... broken. That was the only way Harry could describe it. Bertrand was clearly at a loss for how to deal with the situation himself. In fairness to the vampire, his long term boyfriend had vanished without a trace and left him essentially an instant father figure. To a teen werewolf no less.

"Come on, you gotta drink it."

"Go away."

Harry sighed, placing the smoldering goblet down. Vlad was better at coaxing, and Ingrid better at tough love. Harry wasn't brilliant at either, but he did have a backup weapon.

"Drink it and I'll let you have this."

Draco spotted the Honeydukes chocolate, the one with the green foamy substance inside even the Malfoy house elves couldn't replicate. A shadow of a smile crossed his face, and he downed the Wolfsbane potion in one painfully disgusting swallow judging by the grimace.

"Chocolate. Hand it over."

He relinquished the confectionary, feeling bouyed by a sign of life from his sort-of-adoptive-brother at last. With only two days until the full moon, it was cutting closer and he knew the boy was terrified. Harry would be too, he was sure, if he was about to venture into the unknown.

"This a private thought party or can anyone join in?"

"Vladdo! Damn, you smell."

The sugar appeared to have done Draco a world of good, as he leapt up to hug Vlad, then stepped back wrinkling his nose.

"Yeah, you don't smell so great yourself. At least your senses will go down between moons."

It took a minute for Harry to click - they were opposing species, instincts warning them off each other.

"What's it like? Since I'm you know, human."

Mostly.

"He smells like a dog. Wet dog."

"Vlad smells like... raw meat and lily."

"Lily?"

Vlad and Draco shared a look, then a chuckle.

"The plant."

"Flower of the dead. Said to look the most poetic scattered over coffins too. Can't say I ever thought to try it."

Vlad visibly rolled his eyes as he spoke, but it was a very strange coincidence for Harry. Lily was his mother, and his pet. Now it was apparently a flower symbolizing his best friend. Peculiar. Searching for a change of subject, he quizzed Vlad.

"So, how's your dad?"

"Throwing a tantrum. He found out about the curse. Wanted to know how come I didn't 'tear out the throat and bathe in the blood' of the person who attacked me."

"You know you're always welcome to hide out here. Ingrid here too?"

"Yeah, in her room. She got into a fight with our mother about marriage or something. I'd give her a couple hours at least."

The three teens retired to the library - one table was set aside for them to have study snacks and drinks, so Hermione wouldn't lynch them even though Vlad charmed almost every book they pulled out to be impervious. Harry and Draco both had big appetites now, food was a necessity.

Bertrand seemed very surprised to find them diligently started on their homework, especially when Hermione wasn't even there yet to harangue them. The vampire was still very clearly adjusting to his new life, had been wary of trying to tell Harry and Draco to do a thing - even though he knew from Vlad Bertrand was something of an authoritarian at times.

"Don't get used to us being such geeks like Vlad. I just need to stop thinking about the moon."

Vlad didn't even blink, quietly continuing with his work. Harry had to restrain the urge to try sniffing Vlad, because he had never thought to notice properly before but he thought he _might_ have noticed Vlad smelling like raw meat. Maybe that was Draco's approximation of Vlad's vampire-death smell... It was hard to say, as Harry wasn't a creature like they were.

Well, not vampire or lycanthrope. Harry couldn't say for sure he was **all human** , not when his body ran cold and his eyes turned to slits sometimes. Samael had said his venom would change him. Harry wished he knew how, because the occasional but recurring ache in his teeth was _really_ starting to concern him. And then there were his dreams.

"What do I smell like?"

"You smell like Lily. And I do mean your pet snake. Definitely not like the other boys in our dorm. I uh, didn't want to say anything. In case it was for a reason you weren't aware of."

That warmed Harry in a rather odd way. Draco had known something was off about Harry, and not made a single comment in case it upset him.

"Oh. Thanks. I have a pretty good guess on why, if you're interested?"

Draco dropped his quill, grey eyes turning to Harry's almost desperately, and it clicked into place just as fast.

 _He didn't want to be the only_ _freak._

"Samael. He bit me."

"You were bitten by a damned **basilisk** and _lived_?"

Harry nodded, shrugging his overshirt off to show the scar on his arm.

"Feel it. It's sort of scaly."

One slim hand traced over the mark, and he noticed just how _warm_ Draco was. Only Vlad had really ever touched that scar, and he ran cool just like Harry.

"Wow. Freaky. Hey, look. We were bitten in the same spot, same arm."

He wore long sleeves all the time now to cover the scar tissue, but Draco shed the top layer of clothes and hold his arm next to Harry's.

"Oh yeah. Cool coincidence I guess. Yeah, Samael told me I was special, that it would change me over time. For example, I have more trouble _not_ speaking parselmouth than I do speaking it now. And then there's the fact I don't need these anymore."

Harry took his glasses off, placing them next to the discarded shirts. He wanted to at least encourage the other boy not to hide.

"And the eyes?"

Vlad looked up, and nodded at Harry - the snake thing was back then.

"Oh, yeah. They don't do it all the time, but I can see things differently permanently now. It's mostly under control, but my glasses are glamoured so nobody notices if they change back."

Harry didn't go into deeper details, like his dreams or the intricacies of the magic sight thing he had. He wasn't sure why, because Vlad knew all of it. Draco was no less trustworthy than Vlad. He just... didn't feel like sharing everything the way he did Vlad.

"My teeth hurt."

Harry was about to say the same thing, but it was Bertrand who chipped in then.

"Werewolves, bitten and born, have slightly sharper, longer canines than humans. Nothing like say, Ingrid or myself, but noticeable enough to be counted. You haven't changed yet, I expect the dental pain will fade when you come around from the first change, and your teeth will have changed also. We know a glamouring charm for that, if you're worried."

That was clearly not what was causing Harry's dental discomfort, so he didn't mention it. Harry still hadn't told Vlad about his Voldemort-dream. Because he hoped it was a nightmare, that Samael connecting him to Solace Slytherin was reality and the idea he could _see_ through Tom Riddle's eyes was ludicrous. All the same, he was on the lookout for anything that could be seen as a 'test' for Vlad. He would tell him then, but only if it was necessary.

"Huh. Weird. I'll uh, see how I feel about them after. I don't want to be permanently reliant on glamour charms if I can help it."

"Hermione's here."

Vlad had re-cast some of the wards, so that they were tied to him. Used to his friend being extraordinary, Harry had to be told no thirteen year old should be capable. Vlad was now fourteen, but the point was the same. Harry's birthday was mere days away, but under the concerns of Draco's bite and everything else they had going on, it just didn't seem that important.

"Does she know about..."

He didn't need to finish the question.

"No. I thought it better not to risk letters being intercepted. The less attention we draw to ourselves, the better."

"Very prudent. I will inform them you're on your way down, I think it better her parents not see the stacks of lycanthropy books up here."

Bertrand sped off before anyone could argue, so they packed up their half-done homework and replaced their cover-up layers. Vlad waved them off, saying he was going to go check on his sister.

"I don't think they liked me before. Wait til they find out I turn into a mindless beast once a month."

"Isn't that something most girls do too?"

The joke was so crass and unexpected, Harry couldn't believe he said it out loud but it had the desired effect and Draco burst into genuine, hearty laughter.

"Let's never mention that to Hermione. Or Ingrid. They might actually kill us."

"Agreed."

In the sunlight pouring into the wide staircase down to the reception area, Harry caught the beginnings of an amber shade in Draco's trademark grey eyes. If he wracked his memory, Remus Lupin had light brown eyes that turned that shade of amber near the full moon. Vlad's unique experience meant he knew a fair bit about werewolves both born and bitten, but in the magical world they were generally a pariah, hidden away and shunned.

Hermione leapt on her boyfriend on sight - he was never going to get the 'you should leave me I'm a monster' past that girl, and he had only tried twice before she threatened to hex him if he kept it up.

"Come on through, the elves will have made lunch by now."

"Where's Professor Snape?"

Hermione was just _too_ observant, scanning the room quickly and spotting the lack of his black coffee mug next to a plate of cheese scones - a favourite of his.

"Gone. It's hard to explain and we don't know most of it ourselves."

Already ravenous for information, Hermione sat habitually next to Draco, reaching for her usual powder blue tea cup and staring between them for an explanation. Her parents followed slower, despite their time there for Christmas they were still slightly awkward guests. The house elves popping out of existence randomly probably didn't help. Bertrand calmly invited them through to a smaller room for 'tea and adult conversation', and Harry caught the yellow-gold hue of his eyes that said they needed some 'convincing'.

"So, after we left you to go catch the train, we went to his office and he wasn't there. Quickly realised he wasn't in Hogwarts. Vlad used the portkey to get here without us, and the elves had a note from him. He's gone, he re-cast the wards and warned us not to try and find him. Taught Ingrid to make Draco's medication and everything."

"You think he's gone to..."

She looked back at the door her parents had gone through, chewing nervously on the edge of a cauldron cake that she was slowly demolishing between her fingers.

"Vlad thinks he went there, but not willingly. He even signed guardianship and everything over to Bertrand. Left Vlad a list of the ward changes. Means he was planning in advance for at least a couple of weeks."

Hermione squeezed Draco's hand, which made him smile tightly before grimacing as he realised there was smudged cake and icing between their skin. Wiping his hand on a paper napkin, he let Hermione lace their fingers back together and Harry ignored the dull pulse of jealousy. Draco needed the support, Harry needed to stop being envious of that.

"Hmm. Where is Vlad?"

"Gone to check on Ingrid, but he knows you're here."

* * *

Knowing there was a high chance he would be hexed, Vlad knocked and peered around Ingrid's bedroom door hesitantly. Ingrid was lying on her bed, curtains drawn - the windows had sun-protective spells on, but vampires still didn't love light - and arms crossed over her chest, hands to shoulders.

"Sorry, were you sleeping?"

"Hm? Oh, no. Only comfortable position to lie on my back in."

Ingrid dropped her arms and pushed herself into a seated position, reaching for the bottle of blood on her bedside table. Their grandparents had sent her a whole case of the stuff for her sixteenth birthday, and Vlad was dreading a similar gift.

"I told them you got into a fight with mum, so they shouldn't ask questions about you being in a bad mood. I know it's tough to be here for you."

"Suppose they wouldn't know we've seen her about 3 times in the last five years."

"Exactly. I just wanted to check you were ok."

"Peachy. Go away."

Vlad bit back a sigh, pulling the door closed behind him and leaving Ingrid to brood by herself. He had a lot more exposure, a lot more time to adjust to his need for Harry, wouldn't hold Ingrid's usual turbulent moods against her when he understood what she was going through.

"How's Ingrid?"

"Irritable. Bloodthirsty. The usual."

Draco chuckled, clearly infinitely better for Hermione's presence. He could relate. Harry always made _him_ feel better.

"I'm gonna go do some work on Wolfsbane potion. That way, when Ingrid's done with wanting to stake me in the face, she can make more sense of it."

"I'll come help."

Harry was done eating, he could see from the leftover bones on the side of his plate and the reddish smears on the plate in front of Draco. Hermione was half way through hers, but Vlad knew she would have been chewing between talking and demanding information, she'd likely finish it now the main conversation was over.

"Ok, thanks."

They returned to the library, piled a few books each - Harry's were on werewolves themselves, Vlad's on the potion itself - and got to work.

"Is this true? Werewolves mating on the full moon produces real wolves?"

"Sort of. They aren't like other wolves. More... intelligent, almost human-like. And always, always described as beautiful. There's a couple of them in the Forbidden Forest, that's why we hear howls when it's not the full moon. Rather uncommon though, bitten wolves are so mindless at the full that 'mating' isn't usually on their to do list."

Harry 'ahh-ed' to himself, then turned over the page.

"You could have died that night too."

"Generally true when one's dealing with packs of angry canines."

"No, I mean, for real. Unless this isn't true?"

He flipped the book around and pointed out a sentence. _Werewolf bites, from both true and infected lycanthropes, are fatal to any and all vampires, both born and turned._ He could lie, but Harry would find out eventually as it was bound to be repeated in the other books.

"No, it's true. But anyone could have died there, I just figured I would be more rational than Hermione in the situation, and they couldn't turn me. I'm not frightened of werewolves Harry, I just wanted to get those three out of there."

"You don't like them though."

Sighing, Vlad leant back in his seat, rubbing at his jaw as he tried to word his explanation.

"My genetic coding says no to werewolves, my senses detect werewolf and prepare for danger on instinct. However, my biggest issue with them are people like Fenrir Greyback, who intentionally pass it on. And then there's Patrick, who ran off with my mother. I'm not Remus Lupin's biggest fan, I grant you because he was a hypocrite. Draco on the other hand, is my friend and I want to help him."

"Do you think Greyback was the one to turn Draco?"

"The wolf was the biggest of the six, so I would bank on it. I didn't stick around to see him change back though."

Something in Harry's expression confused him, but Vlad didn't want to push - Harry came to him when he needed it, he would continue to respect that. He lapsed back to silence, so Vlad carried on writing the list of ingredients in the potion - they would search for things with similar reactivity once they were done researching the trial and error steps that became the finished product.

"We need to decide what to do about Diagon Alley. You cannot just wonder around that place unprotected, not with Riddle out for you."

Harry tapped his quill against the table, then picked up his glasses where they were folded next to his parchment.

"Glamour charms? My hair and eye colour is pretty distinctive."

"Maybe, but then there's how to get you about. Everyone knows us, knows you would be with us."

"The situation has been dealt with. I acquired your school lists from the headmaster, we will go while the focus is on a major event at the other end of the country. By the time you're expected to be school shopping, it'll be a past event."

Bertrand stepped into the room, keen eyes scanning over their work even as he spoke.

"What's that?"

"I believe it's the final of the Quidditch World Cup. Meaning many of Riddles followers are likely to be there, public events are excellent places to make a statement or possibly recruit new followers. As he has yet to find replacements for Remus Lupin and Severus Snape, your Potions and Defence textbooks and equipment will be obtained by him when an instructor sets the course material."

"When?"

"After the full moon. For now, focus on your summer homework and other studies."

He left them to it, and Vlad watched him go with a multitude of thoughts.

"Vlad, please tell me you don't have a crush on your tutor."

"Excuse me?"

Harry grinned, indicating the route Bertrand had just left via.

"Kind of looked as though you were checking him out."

There were many reasons what Harry was saying was _impossible,_ but none that he was about to share.

"Bats alive, no! Just worried about him. This was as big a surprise to him as any of us, and he's gotta keep it together for everyone elses sake. And even then, he had the forethought to plan our school shopping for maximum safety."

"Right. Sorry. Bad joke I guess."

Vlad shook his head, nudging Harry's arm to make sure he was listening.

"It's fine. Just don't make that joke to him, he would probably worry someone overheard and thought he was inappropriate with me."

"Makes sense. I will go back to staring at werewolf facts while Draco and Hermione are awkwardly supervised by her parents."

Chuckling, Vlad looked back at his work. Ingrid would have his kidneys for appetizers if he managed to develop a crush on Bertrand. Her mate's homosexuality was one thing, her brother getting in the way was another entirely.

Hermione managed to get her parents to leave her there - though they took her emergency portkey with them - before the moonrise, so they missed Draco's jumpy, edgy and almost aggressive hours leading up. His muscles would grow tense with the pull of the moon, the 'inner wolf' would begin to fight for control and his senses would border on painfully acute.

Grey eyes completely obscured by amber as the time ticked nearer, it took Ingrid's physical strength and several threats of forced sleeping potions to get Hermione away as Vlad put Draco in the silver room. He cowered away from every tiny amount, handing over his wand and stripping down to his boxer shorts. Anything on his body, anything in the room not coated in silver, it would all be obliterated by the wolf.

"Hurts."

"I won't lie to you, this first is going to be the worst of them. But its also the only one you'll ever have to totally surrender to. After this, the potion will work. We have a full treatment plan from Madam Pomfrey on how to patch you up afterwards, and you are going to come out of this just fine."

Harry took a few minutes in there after Vlad left, came back out looking pale and unhappy. It was going to be a long, restless night for all involved.

"Moonrise is imminent. We _have_ to lock the door."

Draco turned away, facing where the moon would come up very soon and meant Vlad didn't have to look him in the eye as they slammed the door closed, locking it before a werewolf got loose in Malfoy Manor.

They didn't need to look outside to know when it would begin, a piercing howl filling the air and it was obvious very quickly that the transformation must be agonising. Even through the walls between them and the wolf, Vlad could smell blood where it tore his body apart and reassembled in their new formation.

The idea of soundproofing hadn't even come up, because Draco was alone enough as it was. Intermittently, sounds of growling and destruction made their way through, as _Remus Lupin_ of all people had recommended there be several things for the wolf to destroy in the room - otherwise his aggression would turn inwards, and he would just hurt himself.

Hermione was beside herself, outright sobbing periodically into Harry's shoulder and Bertrand sat, stone faced and silent through most of the night. Eventually exhausting herself, Vlad looked to see Harry and Hermione in fitful dozing, waving a hand to gently levitate them to the nearest sofa. Ingrid was there too, head in a book on Alchemy but Vlad had grown up knowing her tells - the way her head tipped to one side as she listened, the twitch of her shoulders as she restrained the urge to look round.

The faint prickles on the back of his neck told Vlad sunrise was coming, the pepper up he had taken three hours ago still firing through him. More pained yelps sliced through the air, but then it was finally silent as the moon went down. Ingrid made sure Hermione didn't come rushing in before they had chance to clean him up, because from experience Vlad knew Draco would look like hell immediately after, but their healing regiment would make a massive difference.

The room was completely totalled, unrecognizable from the night before and Draco lay in a pile of bloodied pillow stuffing, bruised and twisted into an unnatural position as he passed out where he was during the change back. The smell of blood was nearly overpowering, smeared across Draco's mouth and nails where the wolf had bitten and clawed at itself in frustration.

"You don't need to be here. I can patch him up."

Bertrand shook his head, the tensed muscles of his jaw and neck saying he was holding his breath to limit the effect the blood scent had on him. A cleaning charm took most of the blood off his skin, let them see where he needed healing creams applied. He tossed a blanket over Draco until he started to come around, Bertrand practically pouring the healing potions down his throat as soon as he could swallow.

"I feel like I was trampled by hippogriffs. And it looks like a tornado came through here."

Dobby came in with water and clean clothes, snapped his long bony fingers and Draco was magically dressed in a blink. He drank the water gratefully, thanking the elf with his still-hoarse voice and Vlad caught the newly sharpened canine teeth.

"Come on, up we get."

Draco couldn't stand under his own power yet, but he was healed of the serious injuries and a few hearty meals and some sleep would finish the process. Bertrand hesitated before just picking him up and carrying him out, against Draco's protests as he was laid down on an empty sofa.

"Can you clean up in there for him please Dobby?"

"Yes Master Vlad! Dobby also be saying there be a lady in a strange hat in the fireplace."

Almost no fireplaces could connect to the Manor, and all of them were in Hogwarts with password-wards on both sides. Vlad went to see who it was, finding Madam Pomfrey waiting.

"Password'?"

"Honestly, I could throttle that man. Licorice Wands."

Chuckling to himself, Vlad let the school nurse through the Floo and took her to where Draco was convalescing.

"Come to put me out of my misery?"

"Oh don't be so dramatic Mr Malfoy."

Chagrined, Draco let the nurse cast diagnostic spells, check his teeth and declare him "as good as can be expected". Hermione woke up soon after, practically diving out of the spot she had been sleeping in to check Draco was ok. Vlad stood back, watching and overheard Madam Pomfrey giving Bertrand the verdict on her exam.

"His condition increases his bodies ability to heal, so the majority of aches and pains lingering should be gone before dinnertime. Ensure he takes a sleep draught tonight, and while I doubt it will be an issue ensure he eats plenty of protein today. He should be totally fine tomorrow."

"Thank you Madam Pomfrey. That is good to hear."

Draco napped throughout the day, but was happy to eat heartily at every meal and Hermione quickly bullied him into his sleeping potion that night. Everyone was exhausted, physically and emotionally but Draco had survived his first, and worst, full moon. Small victories really, but Vlad would take anything right now.

-YDHP-

 **Again, apologies for the late update!**


	32. Birthday Madness

**FangirlFriend2 - thanks! I exclusively only read completed fics myself, because I dread the thought of never knowing how a story would end. I couldn't not have something of Draco's first full moon in it, he may not be a main character but the entire chapter was set in his house, it would have been rude not to note it. As for Zoltan... I don't know, I fear Draco would have torn him apart as he wasn't an animal anymore?**

 **To YokaiAngel, VampireHarry the 2 and lb0302708 - Thank you! Honestly, even little reviews just to say you enjoy this make my freaking day *insert excessive heart emojis***

 **Asteria25 - I see what you were saying about mates, but there is actually more to it than has been told in the story so far. With regards to Bertrand and Snape... Spoilers! And as for pairing them so young... The bond has been integral to Vlad keeping Harry safe sometimes, it's always had a reason for being an early point. And Chosen Two was _always_ going to be a Vlad/Harry story, 99% of my fanfiction is either slash or Vlad/Ingrid (don't judge me)**.

-YDHP-

His teeth were still aching randomly, but no matter how much Harry stared at them in the mirror and prodded at the offending articles, there was no discernable difference. And Lily was absolutely no help, she just hissed and hung upside down in her tank, flicking her tongue out and radiating amusement when Harry grumbled about his dental discomfort.

The Quidditch World Cup final was the next day, or rather, the next night, but according to Draco and his knowledge of such things, a great deal of people would be there in advance at the magically expanded campsites, in magically expanded tents.

"We have one somewhere, hold on."

A few minutes rooting around later, and with the aid of a few house elves, there was a very unremarkable-sized tent pitched in a relatively small space in the dining room. Vlad, Ingrid and Bertrand all regarded it very warily, but Harry was curious and ducked inside, staying crouched until he realised there was ample room.

"You must be kidding. This isn't even a camping thing, it's like a house!"

Stepping aside, Hermione, Draco and Vlad followed. Having clearly been in here before, Draco wasn't surprised by the huge rooms. Vlad leant out and 'invited' Ingrid and Bertrand inside, which meant the tent technically counted as a 'dwelling'.

"Wow."

"These are actually kind of old school nowadays, though they help blend in for outdoor stuff. You can get magically expanded trunks, literally you jump inside a trunk and there's a whole building inside them. Not that my father would ever lower himself to climbing inside _luggage._ "

Vlad was looking in all sorts of strange places - the entrance, the walls, even the ceilings. Focusing, Harry realised what Vlad was looking at - the whole place was alight with magic, he was studying it.

"We should see if you can put a castle appearance inside them, dad would never know we locked him up."

Ingrid laughed at her brothers suggestion, glancing quickly over the same spots Vlad had but obviously less intrigued by the how, more by the wow-factor.

"Yes, well. Everyone ensure your things are ready for tomorrow, we will be aiming for Gringotts by 8:15am."

Bertrand sent them all off, and Harry spent a few minutes staring at the outside of the tent. It was clearly made of a high quality material, and the stitching was probably done by hand just to make sure nobody dared think of Lucius Malfoy having less than the best regardless of what was inside. Still, it didn't _look_ like it contained more space than the Dursleys entire house probably had.

Watching Bertrand try to be effortlessly polite with goblins who **clearly** didn't want to agree with his control of the Malfoy vaults was hilarious - Harry didn't even mind his accursed disguise. Vlad had one too, just to cheer Harry up - and his was funnier. Harry had his hair charmed ash blonde and eyes dark brown by Hermione, glasses folded in his pocket just-in-case. _Ingrid_ had done Vlad's charms, which meant the teen vampire ended up with blue hair and silver-grey eyes, at which his older sister still laughed at.

"We'll go get our stuff sorted then, it defeats the point if we stay with you because everyone will know who we are by association. Meet at Flourish and Blotts in say, an hour?"

Bertrand didn't like it, but had to agree with Vlad's point about staying as a group. Harry faltered when it came to buying their standard fourth year potion kits - Severus had always helped there. Still, Dumbledore had promised to ensure if they needed anything else it would be dealt with when a new teacher was chosen. They would get two new professors this year - having lost a Potions one and Vlad had helped their werewolf DADA professor escape.

Harry saw posters for the Quidditch final around, heard the odd early-morning shopper lament they weren't there to enjoy the match themselves.

"Viktor Krum is _so_ dreamy!"

"He doesn't even talk Bells."

"Exactly Heather. Dream man!"

Girlish giggles hung in the air as those two left, allowing Vlad to finish choosing new scales - Ingrid had broken his with a stray hex when they were unpacking apparently, and they all remembered Severus' orders that magic and Potions ingredients were not to be mixed.

"Who's Viktor Krum?"

"How should I know?"

The shopkeeper cleared her throat, indicating one of the larger posters on the wall. It shifted between bright green and dark crimson, like a backwards fight between Gryffindors bright red and Slytherins deeper emerald.

"Green is the Irish team. The other is Bulgaria. Krum is the seeker. Only seventeen, still goes to school, and probably one of, if not the best seeker in the sport."

Tilting his head, Harry caught sight of a gruff looking, broad-shouldered form on the broomstick, the low point of their V formation flight - the typical place of a seeker on a display flight.

"Man, that kid must have a big head."

The now-scandalized storeowner glared at the blue-haired stranger - apparently Vlad had offended a Viktor Krum fan. They hurried to pay and leave, chuckling quietly to themselves. They both needed new robes, but they were being done by owl order to ensure they weren't overheard, so after picking up a few new shirts and trousers the two skittered out of Madam Malkins.

"What else?"

"Sweet shop, you and the wolf need your sugar supply. Then" 'Vlad' bit his lip, thinking "we probably only have a few minutes to make it to the bookstore before Bertrand has a coronary."

"He's got no heartbeat!"

Realising they were being candid and open, Harry cast a wary glance around. Diagon Alley was still quiet - it was barely 9:30am and by the sounds of it half the magical population of the world was in some campsite watching a schoolboy seeker.

Obscene amounts of candy purchased, plus a quick trip to Zonkos joke shop for trick sweets and potions in case they had time for pranks, Vlad and Harry made it to the bookshop. Just in time for Bertrand to look at them disapprovingly, scratching at his neck where Harry now knew a glamour charm masked the scar from a bite that turned him from man to vampire some four centuries ago.

That was always a bracing thought - Bertrand was _old,_ older than Voldemort and Dumbledore, the war that was slowly wrapping a stranglehold around their world. Of every person and creature Harry knew, only Samael was older. And he was asleep for most of it. To have _seen_ and lived through so much... He couldn't begin to comprehend it at times, and that was something Vlad and Ingrid had in their futures. Oh, their parents would probably be pretty old too then, Harry mused.

Fingers snapped in front of his face, jerking him from his tangential thoughts. Cheeks flushing as everyone stared, Harry pushed open the door of the bookstore. The shopkeeper practically groaned in complaint when they had to order five sets of books, none of which were identical because none of them took _all_ the same subjects, and Ingrid was two years up.

By the time they made it back to Malfoy Manor it was barely 11am, various things dispensed into trunks that they wouldn't need until the school year began. House elves produced a hearty lunch, and Harry enjoyed the rare steak immensely. Vlad and Hermione looked all-set to move rooms when they realised they were in a minority now - Bertrand and Ingrid had goblets of (donated, though Harry didn't know by who) blood next to their plates, and both he and Draco had barely cooked meat to sate their animalistic appetites.

"Two years to go for you Vladarella."

"I told you, I won't drink human blood."

Ingrid quirked one eyebrow, shrugged and resumed sipping at the thick red liquid. Draco didn't seem all that interested in it himself, but then according to Harry's creature books, to most werewolves meat was meat, it wasn't the gnawing appetite for human life-blood that vampires had. Vlad seemed dead set against that though, glaring at his sister and jaw so tensed he couldn't chew.

"So, who do you think our next Defence teacher is going to be? We've gone through one a year already, can't be many mad enough anymore."

"The headmaster is considering requesting an auror to take the job, as apparently there will be an increase in security at Hogwarts this year."

Draco nodded at Bertrand, then looked down at his arm, covered by fabric but they all understood the implication.

"Voldemort has been back for months, not that I trusted dementors but you would think the man could have thought of that before I became Fenrir Greybacks chew toy."

Harry looked up - he only felt sure Greyback had bitten Draco because of _the dream_ \- how did Draco know?

"I can feel it. Pack animal and all."

Conversation lapsed into silence as everyone finished eating, drinking and in Vlad's case probably contemplating future vampirism. Swallowing the last of his pumpkin juice down, Harry was itching to get back to animagus studying - he knew that could in theory, help Draco because werewolves didn't attack animals except for food, and an animagus, with it's retained mental faculties should be able to deal with that.

* * *

"I thought catching the snitch won the game?"

The results of the Quidditch final were in the next days _Daily Prophet,_ and Vlad didn't totally understand it. His interest in the sport was very limited unless it was watching Harry zoom through the air, but he was certain Harry had won every match by catching the little golden winged ball.

"Usually, yes. It gains you one hundred and fifty points, and ends the game. Most of the time that's enough to win, but Ireland's chasers trounced Bulgaria. Krum must have wanted to end it, and apparently he pulled off his signature move beautifully."

Draco spread the paper over the table, so they could all see the moving photograph displaying said move. The dark red blur shot towards the ground, pulling out at the very last second and the green blur next to it hit the ground pretty hard. There must have been a cushioning charm of sorts - that should have killed the Irish seeker.

"The Wronksi Feint. It's like playing against gravity and sanity."

Harry eyed the picture with a spark that made Vlad panic slightly, making a mental note to put protective charms on the ground in the Malfoy Quidditch space outside. Just in case he didn't pull out in time. That wasn't overprotective... right?

"If you're quite done drooling over some Bulgarian bon-bon, can you get out of my way?"

Ingrid wanted the coffee that Draco's arms and newspaper were in the way of, and was apparently feeling amiable enough to verbally request that he move out of her way, rather than just hex him like she normally would. Vlad caught Bertrand gearing up to say something, getting grins from Harry and Draco and teaming up together.

"Hold on, let us guess."

"We spend the mornings on essays."

"Then afternoons on practicals."

"Then after our school homework is done"

"You will figure out what else we need to do."

"Except for birthdays, because Harry's is in two days."

By the time they were done, Bertrand had his brow set in a show of mild irritation.

"While you are correct, and annoying, I was actually going to ask if there was anybody else _invited_ for Harry's birthday. So I can instruct the elves to prepare adequately."

Vlad stuck his tongue out petulantly, then fished through his backpack for the various lists he had - who had portkeys, who knew where Harry was and so on.

"The Weasleys as usual. Uh, that's it this year, though that was before Professor Snape vanished. What with Draco's first full moon and Ingrid having transformed, we agreed it best not to have anyone we didn't trust with the revelations here unless it was via emergency portkey because they were about to get kidnapped or killed. The Weasleys know about you, and I'm totally certain they either knew, or wouldn't care about Lupin."

Bertrand nodded, then did send them off to do their homework with what Vlad expected was no small amount of satisfaction. Rather than spend afternoons on practical work, they blitzed through their essays and were done by late evening just before Harry's birthday.

Ingrid had superspeed to write with, which Harry **personally** thought was cheating - apparently, so did the Exam boards, it was banned during any exam, and between the four soon-to-be fourth years, they managed to have it all done. Rubbing at the cramp in his wrist, Vlad dropped his quill with a relish and laughed at Hermione wiping ink off her face.

"Personal best I think. If I ever see the words Bamboozle Brew again I will dig out my eyes with quills."

"Lovely."

Draco grimaced at Harry, then checked the time.

"10:30pm. Wanna stay up until midnight and eat cake?"

Harry nodded eagerly, apparently gaining a second wind and bouncing out of the library.

"What was that?"

Vlad knew - Harry had told him multiple times about his personal tradition.

"His relatives didn't celebrate his birthday, so Harry used to stay up until midnight to wish himself a happy birthday, when nobody could tell him not to. I'm going to go wash this ink off and put pyjamas on, reconvene by the fireplace in say... fifteen minutes?"

They seperated, certain their homework was perfectly safe where it was as they all cleaned up and put nightclothes on. Ingrid's nightwear wasn't much different to her daywear - a lot of heavy black and red.

Harry dropped onto the sofa spot next to Vlad, and the teens chatted and drank too much hot cocoa and ate biscuits until they felt sick. It was brilliant in it's ease, the weight of everything going on in the outside world fading for a while - even Bertrand sat with them, quiet mostly but Vlad caught his half-smile a few times - he was obviously out of his depth as the sole parental figure there, even though they could mostly take care of themselves as a whole, so it was nice to see him looking a little less down trodden.

Even for a vampire, he was gloomy lately.

As the large grandfather clock chimed midnight, Dobby and a small cake appeared in the room, fourteen candles surrounding bright green letters that spelled "Happy Birthday Harry".

"Make a wish!"

"Stop encouraging breather traditions you pustule."

Even Ingrid mocking him couldn't stop Vlad enjoying the way Harry lit up brighter than the candles, grinning as he blew out the candles. The cake split itself into six slices, then popped onto plates in front of each of them. Bertrand was clearly at a loss with the confectionary, but Vlad knew Ingrid couldn't resist chocolate, and there was a thick slathering of sweetened, chocolatey goo over it. After all the biscuits and hot chocolate, they shouldn't want it.

Vlad ate it anyway, and so did everyone else. Even Bertrand gamely took a mouthful, hiding his overwhelmed grimace at the sweetness from Dobby, who would take it personally whether it was vampiric-reasons or not.

Everyone felt a little sick until Ingrid mercifully presented anti-nausea potions - showing off, Vlad expected. Swallowing it down, he crawled into his bed and fell asleep almost instantly. Harry was still excitable the next day, only sitting still to cram an inordinate amount of sausage and bacon into his mouth before heading out to play gobstones on the perfectly-manicured lawns with Draco. Hermione referee'd, Ingrid scowled from beneath her charmed parasol until one got sprayed in the face, then she laughed.

Vlad kept watch for the port key landing spot, which would deliver a large amount of Weasleys in the next ten minutes or so. The 'pop' of the portkey was almost instantly drowned out by a cheer of "Happy Birthday" from a group of red-heads bearing gifts.

It got harder each year to get Harry gifts - with him all but adopted into the Malfoy family, and Draco happy to share the wealth his family had probably gained by nefarious means in previous generations just to annoy them, Harry could in theory _buy_ almost anything he needed. Lily's tank and carry bag, the pendant to show he accepted Harry's Slytherin ancestry... What else could he possibly do?

It clicked when Draco told them about the magical tents and trunks, leading to Vlad making a rushed owl order - Hedwig was difficult to persuade, but seemed to understand when Vlad pleaded gently and said it was for Harry. It arrived just in time - Hedwig was _not_ thrilled by the wards keeping her out, squawking indignantly at the edge of the protective bubble.

It was surreal, jumping down a relatively narrow gap into a _huge_ space, though luckily there was a ladder to allow him to get out. Vlad had been vague about everything but needing **a lot** of space - now he needed to change it to suit properly. One room became mostly water, contained by a charm already in place - to stop a bathroom leaking apparently. Another had a fireplace and heat lamp put in, designated sleeping space.

The rest was just free roaming, some simulated outside conditions - tricky Transfiguration, but Vlad was pretty good at that. It wasn't perfect - no food source, for example - but damn it was roomy and hopefully Harry would like it.

Clambering out and closing the lid, Vlad flipped open his old runes book, using his wand to magic the shapes onto the lid. Few would be able to translate it - he was using a less common Runic Alphabet, and even fewer would understand if they could.

For show - and mostly as a joke - he gave Harry 'homework help vouchers', which cracked Fred and George up no end. The Weasleys stayed for dinner, talking about the Quidditch match - as it turned out, they had attended it, Mr Weasley had tickets from a friend.

"We would have invited you, of course, but Albus insisted for security reasons, it was too dangerous with You-Know-Who about."

"The Malfoys have their own box. When this dark lord nonsense is dealt with, I'll be inviting you guys."

"Knew there was a reason we kept you around!"

Fred and George did their usual double-sided hug, ruffling Draco's perfectly groomed hair and grinning. Charlie Weasley pulled Bertrand aside, but neither would answer the twins pestering about what they had been discussing when they returned.

"We know he's an evil lord of the undead."

"When he's not teaching. Speaking of, is our dear Potions teacher not here? We haven't been scolded all day."

That sufficiently brought down the mood, Draco's face falling and Hermione moved to comfort her boyfriend instantly.

"He's uh, gone. And no, we genuinely don't know where. And you can't say anything until Dumbledore has located a new Potions teacher, last thing we need is Voldie-juniors lining up to interview for it."

The Weasleys absorbed the information, clearly deciding what to ask first like some kind of ginger-haired hive mind.

"Right. So we get two new teachers this year? Since Professor Lupin vanished."

"Yep. You wouldn't know anything about aurors becoming staff would you sir?"

"Arthur, Vlad. And yes, I have a suspicion about who. As for a Potions teacher, not a clue. There are only half a dozen potion masters in the United Kingdom, and Severus was one of them. Albus may have to outsource."

"Potions Master?"

Arthur Weasley nodded, sipping at his tea, but Draco interjected before he could reply.

"To teach Potions, you must have a Mastery in the subject. Safety precaution, to prove you can handle volatile ingredients and be trusted to make sure no students hurt themselves. Takes like, seven years, it's an intense study. Severus started at fourteen the Mastery, finished by twenty two. Youngest ever."

There was pride evident in Draco's tone, the familiar ache of loss at his adoptive father's disappearing act. Not a cheery end to Harry's birthday, but they had celebrated as much as possible before. The Weasleys left sans Fred, George and Ginny - the library and ability to practice magic was too much of a lure for the students.

"You have Ginny's portkey, pop back if you want to. Or need to, of course."

Draco flushed when Mrs Weasley gave him a huge, motherly hug - that was something Vlad, Ingrid, Harry and Draco were very, very unfamiliar with. Ingrid predictably vanished before there was a risk of hugs, but Vlad and Harry both got them too.

Everyone separated for the night, and Vlad managed to get Harry's attention for the proper gift.

"I did wonder... Not that you _have_ to get me anything, but I thought Hermione was going to hex you for those vouchers."

Vlad presented the trunk, which Harry traced the lettering of.

"I didn't take Ancient Runes."

"That's a different alphabet to the one taught before Seventh Year anyway. It says Samael, open it."

Harry bent down, flipping the lid and peering into the pitch black space.

"Am I going in?"

"Makes sense to, I think."

Rolling his eyes, Harry gripped the side and leapt down into it. Vlad followed quickly, casting a quick light charm.

"What is this?"

"A magically expanded trunk. I uh, modified it. Snake bathroom through there, sleep room with fireplace and heat through there" he indicated the East and West stone archways "then fake-outdoor roaming space that way. I didn't know what else a Basilisk needs, but there is a two hundred foot space that way too, if you have any ideas. I know you don't like leaving him asleep and alone, this way you could take him places. I uh, wouldn't cast a shrinking charm on the trunk though."

Harry stared around, speechless before running to each archway and looking around.

" **What** did you ask for?"

"Said I was building a real life dungeon obstacle course, not sure he believed it but I asked for a spot you could in theory use for human seating, and have your enormous serpent roam about the place in these huge rooms. He's what, sixty, sixty five feet? I went with as roomy as possible. The rest is my handiwork, I thought asking for a fifty foot heat circle was a _tad_ obvious."

Harry spun in place, eyes wide as they took it all in. Vlad started to panic - was it too much? He frequently worried he was plastering a neon sign saying "I'm in love with you" across his face sometimes, but luckily Harry was as oblivious to his best friends feelings as ever.

"I... I don't have the words. Vlad, I... This is..."

He was suddenly wrapped in a fierce hug, and he had a minor heart attack when he realised Harry had let a few tears free. They were cold, not the usual warmth of tears from anyone else, and made his skin feel a little strange. That could be the effect of Harry's proximity though... Vlad needed to move soon.

"So it's a good gift?"

"Amazing. You have to stop trying to outdo yourself each year, unless you're going to eat my evil grandfather for my sixteenth. In which case you can give me socks next year."

Vlad couldn't help but laugh aloud at the absurd statement, glad Harry liked his gift and that was all that mattered.

"I want to go get him now, but I think that would be a tricky explanation to make. Especially to Ginny. Before Hogwarts though, yeah?"

Vlad wanted to argue, even if realistically he had known such a thing would be too appealing to Harry to wait. Faced with a rapturous, desperate look, he was powerless to crush that hope in his mate.

"If you can figure out how you'll keep him fed discreetly all year, then yes we can go get him before we go back to Hogwarts. Because unlike Lily, he can't exactly eat one rat a week and be fine."

He could see Harry already trying to work it out, full of fire for the enormous serpent he had... inherited, absorbed venom from, and somehow formed an attachment to. They climbed out of the trunk, and Harry hugged him again before levitating it out - Vlad had checked that was safe - and disappearing into his room. Seeing his mate so happy... It was worth any concern really.

-YDHP-

 **A lot of this probably seemed like filler and nonsense, but it'll mostly make sense next chapter... I hope. And we should be back at Hogwarts by Y4 C4. Also, it's about 2am here but as an insomniac who hasn't been to sleep yet, it's still _technically_ Sunday. For me.**


	33. Complicating Matters

**DarkBloodWolf13 - thank you! I agree, Harry's a bit daft but that's why we love him. Also, I do feel very bad that so much of my storyline plans has the side effect of poor Draco going through many bad things. I'm not _intentionally_ torturing him, it's just an unfortunate byproduct!**

 **PercyPowerful - you have no idea how popular an idea that is, I feel like in spite of the pairing this story has always been there's a sort of... secret side ship going on somewhere! Also, I am obviously very glad you're still here and enjoying the story! I have this planned up to Year Seven (and some of after that planned but still in formative stage) so I have zero intention of leaving it unfinished. At worst, you get updates a couple days late when I'm screaming DAMNIT WRITERS BLOCK at my screen sometimes.**

 **Chosen Two Year One + Two hit 70 favourites this week. To you guys that probably means very little but you have no idea how much it means to your sad little author. The response to my Harry/Vlad oneshot 'Immortality' was pretty phenomenal too, and I am working on a couple of Chosen-One Shots for you guys too, plus if you read Hunt or Porphyria those are also being updated soon also!**

 **Until then, let's get on with Year Four, I'm so excited!**

-YDHP-

"So, why _did_ Lupin leave? He's been the best teacher so far."

It had been inevitable that they ask, really, especially with the assumption that somehow at least Vlad and/or Harry had been involved. Fred asked first, and before Vlad could come up with a convincing half-truth that wouldn't out Draco, George was following up.

"Did they find out he was a werewolf?"

The word always caught Draco's attention, blond head snapping up from his breakfast to look at the twins.

"You knew?"

"Course we did. Makes no odds to us."

"Your tutors a vampire, he's technically dangerous all month round."

"And yet"

"Here we are."

Ingrid hexed both twins, because their finishing each others sentences drove her mad. They didn't stop grinning even as their skin broke out in tiny, purple wriggly tentacles, laughing at how the curse had affected them identically.

"Anyway. So. Is that why?"

"I don't know that the school as a whole found out, but something happened and he would have been blamed if he stayed. So he left before that could happen."

"Something? Very specific. Let me guess, Mouldy-shorts related?"

Vlad nodded, and thankfully the guesting Weasleys took him at face value, then started proclaiming the magnificence of the bacon they were eating to the house elves, and that was that. For now at least.

Having not been a part of the rush to finish their essays, the redheads were glared into the library by Bertrand - under strict orders from their mother to do exactly as the vampire ordered and _commending_ Bertrand for watching eight teenagers at once. They mostly took care of themselves, but it was still a surprise when everyone had been wary of the fanged French vampire less than a year ago.

"So, what now?"

"Potions practice this morning. Practical magic later with the Weasleys."

Ingrid was, hilariously as patience was _not_ one of her virtues, now in charge of their Potion lessons. Draco had stated more than once she should test for a Mastery, but Ingrid had no desire to be a teacher, nor would she want to spend seven years studying after Hogwarts.

"My potions turned purple, yet according to the instructions, it should be pale green. I may have gone wrong somewhere."

"Too much knotweed. Add castor oil three drops at a time until it changes to the right colour. Moron."

At least Ingrid had taken the time to tell him how to fix it _before_ she started insulting him. Though Vlad doubted he had heard the end of it. Earlier, he had been pretty good at Potions because he was great at ingredient preparations and measurements. However, as they went on to harder brews, it became clear Vlad didn't have the innate _feel_ for Potions. Draco did. Ingrid **definitely** did. Hermione didn't, like Vlad she was hovering towards top of their classes but falling short of others in Potions.

It was a week before Fred, George and Ginny were up to date on essay work, joining in on Potions and then taking turns hexing each other senseless. Ginny had a fiery sort of power to her magic, and Vlad was certain she would outstrip her brothers in power.

Bertrand received a note from Dumbledore three weeks into the summer, updated with what they would need. Even at the speed he read the note, Vlad watched an assortment of emotions cross his face.

"Hmm. The headmaster will acquire your extra books... what are dress robes?"

Hermione, as ever, had an answer instantaneously.

"The muggle equivalent would be suit and tie. Formal wear, but not a uniform."

"Well, according to this, you and any student fourth year and up will all need them. Preferably without a mass trip to Diagon Alley, as that would defeat the point of going early."

"What in the name of all that is evil do we need formal wear for school for? It's bad enough they make us wear robes to class!"

Ingrid groused to herself while they considered how best to deal with the requirement. Fiddling with his wand, Vlad didn't have an answer.

"Well with an increase in security due, and the fact a formal outfit is on our mandated list... I'm guessing there will be some sort of event going on."

"But only fourth years and up. Which doesn't include me, so what's that about?"

Ginny seemed genuinely offended by the idea, glaring at the back of the letter Bertrand was holding like the parchment itself had done her a personal injustice. Draco eventually came up with a solution for their clothes, which solved at least one issue for the day.

"We have all the measurements done already for school robes. Tomorrow should be the release of the new catalogue from Twilfit and Tattings. We can use that, because most students will go to Madam Malkins. More expensive, but Mr Twill is more discreet."

Nobody had any objections to that - not even Ingrid. Ginny was appeased by the mention of flying, most of them rushing out for a friendly game on brooms. Draco struggled a little at first on a broom now, a side effect of his 'condition' where the wolf protested flying, but once he did a few practice loops it seemed to ease off. Lucky really, as he was likely to be the Gryffindor keeper that year.

Bertrand looked very uncomfortable flying at first, but Vlad's sun charms held well enough to let the vampire referee, and Ingrid's excuse of adamantly refusing to risk getting a tan covered up her sitting under the charmed shady area. Vlad sat with her and Hermione, laughing at the twins antics and Ginny practically flying circles around her brothers.

Ordering dress robes quickly became a hilarious debate over colours, where Ingrid tried to insist Vlad wear a paisley abomination while he pointed out the baby pink options for her. Unsurprisingly, Ingrid chose something in black and red, because aside from her house colours and _rarely_ dark blue or purple, she acknowledged no other combination.

Draco ended up going with plain black, and Hermione went with a soft blue. Male dress robes were more like robes, but female dress robes may as well have been dresses. It was very confusing, and Vlad ended up picking something in navy just to end the selection process. Harry was co-erced by Hermione into opting for green, because it suited him brilliantly and his distaste for the Slytherin colour was a bit ridiculous when he had a bright green pet snake.

When they each tried on the robes - to check the fit - Vlad felt a little _weak_ just at the sight. Harry and green was a match made in personal-Vlad-heaven. At the rate he and Draco continued to bulk out, Vlad did wonder if they were going to be a little snug whenever they needed them, which was a very distracting thought.

Animagus training was rather difficult with the constant activity, but both Hermione and Harry felt close to ready for the potion, close enough that they intended to take it before they went back to Hogwarts.

Most things taken care of, the only sticking points left were the full moon and Samael. Going to get the serpent wasn't too hard - Harry's portkey was keyed to Bertrand's home, which was now effectively for show as he spent all his time either at Malfoy Manor or Hogwarts - but there was still the issue of what to do with the basilisk. It was probably illegal somehow to sneak a basilisk into school. Particularly one that had been ordered to kill by a possessed book.

But one sad look from his mate and Vlad knew he would go along with it regardless. So long as Harry had come up with a way to take care of Samael needing to eat, so he could stay in the trunk for the school year. Even Harry agreed Samael couldn't wander freely, and the Chamber was a security risk as the Hogwarts enchantments didn't quite apply there. Nobody could apparate in, otherwise Riddle could enter Hogwarts with ease, but Vlad's portkey bypassed the enchantments in _and_ out.

Mostly he was hoping Riddle never tried that, as Vlad didn't dare rely on Dumbledore having set up protections to keep the psychotic killer out. Technically the Chamber belonged to Harry now, as the true heir. Vlad hoped that counted too.

* * *

Nobody could understand, Harry knew that. His bond with Samael was practically genetic, they were linked through heritage and through the steady changes venom was creating in his body.

Lily sort of understood - she was technically under Samael, as he was the "king of serpents", and had been pestering Harry to wake him almost since the serpent had gone back to sleep. And as his bonded familiar, she understood the connection.

Harry couldn't put it into words, but he _missed_ his pet basilisk painfully. Even Vlad, who had made it possible for Harry to smuggle the snake into Hogwarts, didn't quite get it, but he was willing to enable Harry to get his pet back anyway.

"How am I going to keep him fed at Hogwarts? Please don't suggest feeding him students."

"Would work. He survived on small rodents for many moons."

"Dropping a dozen rats a day into a trunk might attract attention."

Lily made an amused hiss, stretching herself out to the full extent of her current length before slithering along his arm.

"Your fangs are coming through wizard."

"Excuse me?"

Lily bared her own teeth, displaying the venemous 'fang' teeth she had at the front. Harry pressed against his own teeth with his tongue, and his canines were undoubtedly sharper than he remembered. Mindful of the snake on his bicep, Harry moved to the nearest mirror. It was small, but definitely, definitely there. Not to the extent of Ingrid or Bertrand, or even Draco or Remus had, but still noticeably different to say... Hermione, or Vlad and his currently flat teeth.

"Are they going to grow into teeth like yours? Because that would be awkward."

"Unlikely, would not suit your jaw structure. Imagine they will just be better for injecting venom."

Turning wide eyes to the calm, relaxed snake, Harry blinked rapidly in surprise.

"Are you saying _I'm_ going to have a venomous bite?"

"You already have trace amounts in your saliva and tears, not enough to harm wizardfolk. Furry one told me her vampire called your tears 'cold and tickly-tingly' when he was thinking aloud one night. Apparently you cried over the basilisk-box."

Harry did remember getting emotional about that, though Vlad hadn't mentioned anything. Maybe the idea it was venom in his _tears_ hadn't occurred to him - it certainly hadn't to Harry until now. Sucking a little to pool saliva in his mouth, Harry spat into the sink, staring as though he expected it to fizzle and burn through the ceramic.

"Trace amounts wizard. Not matured yet, and even then you wouldn't use snake venom to burn a sink. Silly humanoid."

Lily had a point - they had collected basilisk venom straight from Samael's mouth into a container and it hadn't dissolved.

"Not ideal for plastics though. Whatever plastics are. King snake told me that."

Harry couldn't help laughing, demonstrating what a plastic object was to his confused familiar. There weren't many in the wizarding world, as it could carry trace chemicals which interfered with plant and potion characteristics.

He had the Wronski Feint pretty much mastered by the end of two weeks practice, and he could 'see' extra charms layered over the ground. Was Vlad really so good at predicting him?

The Weasley children left a week and a half before the end of summer - they had school supplies to buy, which conveniently kept them from seeing Draco have Wolfsbane potion poured down his throat by an insistent pair of witches.

"It's disgusting."

"It stops you tearing chunks of your own fur, skin and blood out. Shut up and swallow."

Hermione was a little gentler about it, but no easier to dodge for Draco. Over time Harry imagined it would get easier, or he would at least adjust to it. It was clear the next morning after the full that it made a great deal of difference - at Draco's own insistence, he had still been in the silver room, but there were no new injuries, and Madam Pomfrey was thrilled by the almost-normal condition of the blond that morning.

"How do I do this at Hogwarts? I know technically I'm safe enough to transform in the dorms with the potion, but the other boys might notice."

"Professor Dumbledore has set aside a special room for it, which you will be informed of properly upon return to school. Now spend as much of today resting as possible, eat plenty of protein and take your potions. I will see you all September first."

With a week left until they returned, Harry was running out of time. Lily eventually presented an idea that had merit.

"The vampire gets raw meat bundles from elves for his death-omen friends in the Forest. You could obtain something similar for king snake, surely?"

Alight with excitable energy, Harry presented the idea to Vlad. Or tried to at least, as the vampire was intrigued by the change to his teeth that was apparently visible.

"Lily reckons I'm going to have a venomous bite. I'll ask Samael about it soon."

The fact that was a possibility made Harry nearly giddy, especially when Vlad picked no fault with Harry's (Lily's) plan to feed him.

"Really? Mine's going to be deadly, but I don't know if vampires technically have venom. More like we transmit a virus."

The conversation extended only to them agreeing to wait until night, as their absence would be far harder to notice if everyone was asleep. Harry was sat next to the trunk, dressed and bouncing with excitement for well over an hour. He tried to read, but the prickling anticipation under his skin was too distracting, and the book was tossed aside.

"Hold the fort down Lily, we shouldn't be long."

Vlad tapped gently on his door, pushing it open to find Harry raring to go. Phantom leapt off his shoulders, clambering on to Harry's bed to curl up next to Lily.

"Make sure you warn Samael not to eat Phantom. Or anyone else, for that matter."

"Hilarious. Can we go?"

They each took a handle of the magical trunk, then Vlad reached awkwardly for Harry's necklace. Portkeys would never be his favourite way to travel, but this was worth it. Vlad bade him to wait while he checked the place was safe, but apparently his enchantments had held.

Samael was a wonderful vision, exactly where Harry had left him. Vlad hung back to give Harry his space, rubbing a hand over the large scaled head before hissing the reversal of the stasis. As it began to wear off, Harry continued hissing gently to calm his basilisk, hoping he would wake peacefully rather than upset.

"Hey, it's me. Promised I would be back, didn't I?"

"Has not been long. Or has it?"

"Over a year, but Vlad came up with a way for me to take you back to Hogwarts. Not the Chamber, or Riddle might try to take you back."

"Can't. He would have to kill you first."

That was reassuring and Harry smiled inwardly, feeling the enormous head bump gently against his palm. For a titanic, cold blooded reptile, Samael was surprisingly warm to the touch for him.

"So, want to see your new home? Unless you would rather stay here?"

"My preference is always with my true owner, especially when he doesn't wish to use me to cause harm."

"Good, because I've missed you."

It took a minute to realise the charm had held all this time - Samael had his massive yellow eyes open, and neither he nor Vlad were petrified or dead.

His thick body only just fit down the trunks opening, and Harry couldn't help laughing at Samael hissing his confusion about the narrow space available until he worked out the archways. However, once he discovered the space, he was enthralled, hissing his approval back up where Harry was leaning over the trunk.

"Well? What's the verdict?"

"He loves it. Said he wouldn't eat you for the heat lamp alone."

"I'll take that as a compliment. I think."

Vlad smiled anyway, then indicated Harry's necklace. Right. He could spend all the time he wanted with Samael when they were back, but right now they should get back to the Manor.

"This might be an unpleasant ride, but he will be totally safe in there. So warn him, then lets go."

Harry passed on the warning, and Samael hissed back that he was ready so long as it was over fast. Portkeys were pretty instant, so that was doable. They were back in Harry's room at the Manor within a few minutes, and Harry wasted no time in dropping down into the trunk himself. Vlad followed more sedately, watching as Samael pressed the flattened front of his snout against Harry's chest.

"Thank you for this. Honestly, I could never have come up with this."

Vlad nodded, leant against a stone wall with a wry smile on his face.

"No problem. So long as he behaves himself, that is."

Samael cracked one eye open in Vlad's direction, narrowing slightly but Harry knew it was in jest.

"What part of obedience to the heir of Slytherin does your vampire not understand?"

"Well he doesn't actually understand you, he's taking my word alone that you're safe to sneak in to school. You're going to have to stay in here, but this way I can come see you."

"Acceptable, so long as there is sustenance."

"Yep, that was Vlad's condition on me bringing you to Hogwarts - figure out how I could feed you. And he said he didn't know what you might need, but is open to ideas for the currently empty space over there."

At present, Samael had no suggestion, but said he had a feeling it could be useful in the future. Whatever that meant. Harry had thousands of questions, but right now Samael needed to actually sleep - the stasis he had been in was suspended for aging purposes, but apparently wasn't any sort of truly restful.

Vlad had to drag Harry out when Samael was done coiling himself up beneath the heat lamp, in front of his fireplace. Harry was sort of jealous, half tempted to go find a spot in the snake sleep room himself.

"Come on. He's here, sleeping but no longer in stasis. Now you need to sleep, up here, because I'm _not_ explaining your disappearance to the others."

Pouting petulantly, Harry had to agree with the sound logic. Vlad made him promise to come down for breakfast, but afterwards he would cover for him if he wanted to spend the entire morning with Samael. Grumbling but grateful, Harry agreed.

"Fine. See you in the morning. And... thank you, again. I missed him."

He had to displace Lily and Phantom to get into his bed, then resort to half a vial of dreamless sleep to drift off in his excitable state. The trunk was unbelievably tempting, but Harry's appetite and promise to Vlad won out. That didn't mean it was easy pretending to be calm over breakfast, rather than giddy with excitement as he swallowed a hearty helping of bacon and sausage, washed down with two mugs of tea.

Vlad gave him a small nod, to say he would still cover for Harry, who was tempted to run up to his room but fought the impulse, tried to maintain the illusion of calm. At least until his door was closed and locked, trunk open and Harry dropping himself down into the near-pitch-black mid-section.

The fake outdoor space was pretty good - it even _smelled_ like fresh air. He found Samael stretched out in the grass, not asleep but clearly relaxed. The deep green scales didn't exactly camouflage him, but then he was pretty high on the food chain, nor was it likely he would have to hide in this trunk from anybody anyway.

When Harry approached his huge, scaley head and ran an affectionate hand there, Samael hissed in greeting. It wasn't really a word, more the snake equivalent of Vlad's humming to acknowledge someone when he was buried in a book.

"Vlad did come up with another condition, by the way."

"Your vampire is very bossy."

"I know, but he's looking out for me. And you. He says if the trunk lid is open, you have to close your eyes. Because, as he said, we shouldn't rely on locking charms keeping everybody else out, and if someone got in here and your eyes killed or petrified them it would be pretty hard to cover up."

"Very well. I have a feeling them seeing me at all would be fairly difficult to keep secret, whether I killed them or not. However, I am agreeable regardless."

Harry came in intending to ask all sorts of questions, but when it came to it, he really just wanted to sit quietly and enjoy the snakes company. He did, as promised, warn Samael not to eat Phantom, which won an amused sound from the lazing serpent.

Vlad peered in half an hour before lunch, which told Harry he had whiled away a good few hours and achieved very little but bonding time. He wondered if it would get easier to leave with time.

"Are you going to be alright without me?"

"I will survive, I am sure. Go. Sustain your small body."

Harry let himself be led away, trailing one finger down the massive length of his pets body, all the way to the pointed tail that was as wide as Harry's whole body apart from the very tip. He never quite got used to the sheer size a basilisk could reach, even when scaled down in the enormous space this trunk contained.

"Come on, lunch and then I think Hermione wants help with finishing the potion."

"What about Draco?"

"He's doing some extra potions work with Ingrid. I think he wants to prove he never slacked off if- when we find Severus."

Vlad caught his slip and corrected it, but it brought the severity of the mans disappearance right back home to Harry. After lunch they followed to Vlad's room, where Draco was least likely to visit - he was regularly in Hermione's room, and dropped in on Harry sometimes too. Vlad not so much, as apparently the vampire smell pervaded his room and overloaded Draco's new senses sometimes.

"You go right ahead, it's no good for me."

"Drink it anyway."

Vlad quirked an eyebrow at Hermione, who was pushing a cup of it towards Vlad.

"The worst that happens is nothing."

Harry picked up his glass, a pale blue liquid filling it. This would solidify their feelings for their animagus forms, so that they could begin to focus on actually transforming into it now. That could still take months, years even, but this was a happy half way point for Harry.

Vlad took the glass eventually, frowning into the contents.

"Nothing is exactly what will happen. Still. Bottoms up I guess."

As one, the three tipped back their heads to swallow the concoction nice and quick - it tasted like cough syrup left out to go bad, and Harry felt mildly nauseous. The 'feeling' in his body grew tenfold, flooding his brain and dropping him to his knees. Hermione went down too, but it was surprising and scary when Vlad crumpled next to him. Had something gone wrong?

-YDHP-

 **Back to Hogwarts next chapter! Because what every tense, terrifying school year needs is a basilisk living at Hogwarts again... Right?**


	34. Replacement Roulette

**PercyPowerful - I had to leave it there, I wanted you readers spending a week pondering the possibilities!**

 **Karina - You wait and get your weekly update like everybody else! I jest, thank you for telling me you are enjoying my story!**

 **YokaiAngel + VampireHarry the 2 - as ever, love the little reviews just as much!**

 **I'm sure you've all formed potential opinions, I hope to at least vaguely surprise you. Though you guys are remarkably smart. If you take issue with the forms, I apologise but I have plans and I must follow through with them!**

 **One thing - WHY didn't anyone tell me how badly my story flowed early on? I'm doing a little work on Chosen Two - Year One (no actual story changes, just fixing the clumped paragraphs and hopefully** ** _all_** **the spelling mistakes. But as I read through my own work, compared to now, I am** ** _amazed_** **anyone made it this far.**

-YDHP-

Despite Vlad's comments about his animagus form probably being avian, or night dwelling, with Samael rewriting his body piece by piece Harry had pretty much convinced himself his animagus form would be something reptilian at least. So the image that solidified in his mind was a surprise.

"Everyone alive?"

"Technically I'm undead. However, not totally dead."

"Ow!"

Hermione was the first back on her feet, shaking her head to clear the strange feelings. Harry took a couple more minutes to find his balance and get up again, then Vlad made it back to standing position himself. Looking at the potion, which was already starting to discolour as it cooled, Harry turned to Hermione.

"So, did it work?"

"Yeah. Well. I think so. You?"

"Yeah. Vlad?"

Still clutching his head, Vlad looked as though he was in some kind of pain.

"Vlad?"

"Not sure. Don't think the potion agreed with the painkiller I had earlier."

His chest scar still hurt periodically, Harry knew that much. It seemed to be lessening in frequency, but Vlad was good at hiding it either way.

"Did it do anything for you?"

"Hard to say."

As the pain left his head, Harry closed his eyes and tried to 'transform'. Unsurprisingly, it didn't actually work. That would have been remarkable. Still, at least he knew what he was aiming for now. When Hermione was gone, and Vlad was ok, he could go talk to Samael about it. The basilisk always knew what to say, or not say.

"Well? What are you?"

"That's a very personal question Vladimir."

"You made me take the potion, so spill."

Hermione managed to glare, looking down at herself as though imagining the changes - Harry did something similar.

"Panther."

"A giant cat against a rabid dog. Interesting."

Harry suddenly felt... rather small. When both Vlad and Hermione turned to him, expectant for an answer about his form, he genuinely considered lying and saying it hadn't worked.

"I'm... I'm a crow."

Both Hermione and Vlad appeared considerably less surprised than Harry had hoped - he wanted them to have been picturing a majestic lion or graceful eagle, for his ego's sake. Instead, they merely shared a contemplative look.

"You'll be able to fly. That's pretty cool."

"Mmm. Not very... impressive though."

"Hey, don't knock small flying creatures. I'm a bat remember?"

Vlad offered him a grin, and Harry couldn't help but feel slightly soothed somehow. He _did_ have a point, and Harry was sure it would grow on him. Plus, he had to get to transforming first. That could take a while.

Feeling slightly sickly, Hermione headed to her room for a nap with two promises - to keep this a secret, and to not try transforming just yet. Vlad could see him bouncing excitedly, and after he made Harry help clean up the potion mess, he waved him off to go spend time with Samael.

"Go. Soon you won't be able to just jump down whenever."

Immensely grateful, Harry hugged Vlad tightly before hurrying off to find his basilisk. Lily hissed to garner his attention, wrapping around his wrist to go along for the journey. Samael was in his 'bathroom', which was essentially just a room full of water for him to soak in. After so long hibernating, he needed to shed soon. At his size, it took days to loosen the thick skin, and soaking helped ease the process.

"Hey you."

"Hello wizard. Hello small kin."

Samael placed his enormous head near the edge, so Harry could rub his hand over the scaly snout. It was still _mental_ to have this enormous creature so docile and laying there like a sleeping kitten, but Harry didn't doubt his pet for a second. Lily was barely the length of his entire head, and she hadn't yet reached the age where she would get thicker - at maturity, she would be a sixth of Samael in length, and perhaps the width of his snout.

"King snake is lazy."

"Mind your tone small one. I have spent much time suspended, readjusting will take time."

"Now now you two, you're going to have to get along."

Both made amused hissing noises, and Lily flicked her tongue against the scar on his inner elbow. Samael couldn't quite do that - his tongue was huge, and his jaw structure didn't quite allow for it as easily as Lily's did. He could still 'taste' the air the same way. Harry found the variations fascinating - it was hard not to become interested in snakes with _two_ for familiars.

"So, did you wish to discuss anything in particular wizard?"

"Just came to tell you we used the animagus potion, so I now know my form is a crow."

"Symbol of the dead. And your Patronus charm shield is a phoenix. Death and immortality... Your magical symbolism seems particularly attuned to reflect your vampire."

Having been hatched a millennia ago, and speaking in a language that didn't always have an English equivalent word, Samael spoke strangely sometimes and Harry had to focus to make out what he meant. This time, the message was clear enough. Remus had made a similar remark when his Patronus took shape as a phoenix.

"Well, he's my best friend. Aside from you two, that is."

"Indeed. It is intriguing how it rather matches his other form, as you will both be stealthy, airborne and innocuous in the night."

"I'll bear that in mind if we take up burglary or something."

He got the distinct impression Samael was rolling his eyes, even though they were currently closed as he relaxed. Something about how casually everyone referred to links and similarities between he and Vlad got under his skin, as true as it was that they were probably closer than most best friends - Harry's trips to Vlad's bed, and Vlad's allowance of it were proof of that.

Shaking it off, Harry ran his tongue over one of his newly growing 'fangs', as Lily called them. That didn't actually help, now he thought about it - another similarity to Vlad.

"How far along this changing process am I? I know it's only been just over a year, but I'm curious."

Samael shifted his mammoth body slightly, the entire 'pool' rippling with even a small motion. There was a slight loose appearance to his scales now, though they weren't totally ready to come off judging by Samael staying submerged.

"Less than half way, but not by a large amount. I suspect you'll realise when the venom in your system matures. It is the second time such a person was born."

"You mean there was someone else like me? How so?"

He appreciated that the basilisk had his own rules, and that too much foreknowledge could be dangerous in a way, but sometimes it was a little frustrating to not know everything when Samael clearly did.

"Solace Slytherin had only one child. That child had multiple offspring herself, but she was the only one to be born of the same combination of genetics. A dual Slytherin heir and a Potter."

"I thought they had a son too?"

"Adoptive. Abandoned for being a... what is it you wizards call it? Ah yes, a squib."

Harry's mind was turning over the facts in his mind - his grandmother had clearly been a part of Slytherin's line somehow, as she had the pendant. And he already knew Tom Riddle was a descendent of Salazar. Making Lily Evans a 'dual' heir herself, and then she had married his dad. A Potter. How had that never occured to him? Vlad had mentioned the poetic aspect, but not quite focused on the genetic replication.

"So what, her daughter was part basilisk venom too?"

"No, but had she met Serpic, she would have been able to imbibe the venom as you have."

"Serpic?"

"Herpo the Foul named him. That wizard was intelligent, but also a callous and uncreative man of little morals with a rare talent for pure dark magic. Serpic outlived Herpo by around five hundred years, being the second attempt of breeding that Herpo attempted. I encountered Serpic only once, and once free of his master he was, as you say, harmless. Our predecessor was unfortunately controlled from hatch to death by a madman with a horcrux."

"Predecessor? Oh, you mean the very first basilisk? Did they have a name? Do you even get girl basilisks?"

"His name was Azazil. I am only the third to be bred, and all three of us have been technically male. It matters little when we cannot breed in the conventional manner. Parseltongue lay dormant in the genes for a while, and without parselmouth we cannot be tamed or controlled, making it senseless and even suicidal to attempt to breed one of us."

That made a fair bit of sense - the Parseltongue ability had always been classed as rare, and had it been prevalent in every generation someone surely would have been able to trace Solace Slytherin and her descendants with ease. He already knew it tended to skip generations - as proved by Harry himself.

"Is the Potter part important?"

"Only in the sense of history repeating itself I suppose, although as bloodlines go, they are a rather powerful line. They are also one of the few old families to have never been swayed to dark magic. A uniquely pure bloodline, to balance out the darkness of your other inheritance."

"So I'm a perfect mix of Slytherin and purity, and that's why I can absorb basilisk venom and have it change me rather than kill me?"

"There is perhaps more depth, but now is not the time to explore it. I must rest now wizard, my skin is weighing heavily."

Harry apologised for keeping Samael awake, running an affectionate hand over Samael's enormous head before leaving him to rest. In spite of leaving with perhaps more questions than he went in with, Harry felt infinitely better for spending time with Samael, and having the freedom to talk about anything. Most subjects came easier when he spoke Parseltongue, and he knew that as both snakes were _his_ familiars, they wouldn't want or be able to tell anyone his fears and questions.

Luckily, the shedding process was over before they left for Hogwarts - portkey travel was unpleasant for the basilisk in his trunk, Harry really didn't want to put the basilisk through that when he was halfway through a shed. Sixty seven feet and four inches of skin (Vlad measured) which was a perfect replica of Samael's shape, later, his scales looked brighter and he was much happier.

Chewing his third bacon sandwich of the morning as they rushed around in advance of their portkey trip to Platform 9 3/4, Harry realised Vlad had never answered the question of whether the animagus potion had shown him anything. He should probably bring that up again.

* * *

Wary of using shrinking charms on the trunk - he did it to his backpack, but that was less expansive and he never did it with Phantom or Lily sleeping in it - it made transporting the trunk itself difficult. They all shrunk and carried their things in pockets now, and the others wouldn't miss Harry having a second trunk. Eventually he had a lightbulb moment, widening the opening of his backpack and having Harry help guide it into the cavernous space. Phantom was currently napping in her usual spot, so he wouldn't be shrinking the backpack anyway.

"She's going to love it when she has to go in her carrier the other end."

"Oh yeah, totally. You packed everything?"

"Mmm. Need more meat."

Since Samael's arrival in Malfoy Manor, Harry had become far more at ease with his body changing. Now his ravenous meat appetite was joked about, and he had completely abandoned his glasses in Malfoy Manor. Vlad was happy the frames weren't obscuring Harry's face, nor were they pushing back the hair that brushed the top of his cheekbones at the sides. Harry's hair didn't grow much, Vlad had noticed - over the time they were at Hogwarts, most of the boys hair grew between holidays, but Harry's had barely grown since first year.

Harry returned, glasses folded and hanging from the front of his shirt while a bulging wrap containing more bacon, sausage and mushrooms than Vlad ate in a week was held in his hand. His other arm was occupied - Lily was wrapped around his forearm, and without Harry's muscle growth she would likely be thicker than his forearm now. With the slow progress of muscle wrapping around his lean frame, the weight of a two and a half foot serpent didn't seem to even register.

"Everyone else is almost ready. I think Ingrid's still packing her make up though."

"That could take days!"

Harry snorted, lifting his hand to cover his mouth in case food came flying out. A mild thrill ran through Vlad, as he didn't look the slightest bit weighed down by Lily. As a vampire, he would have strength well beyond that of a normal human. And by the looks of it? Harry would be able to keep up with him. He owed Samael a couple of cows or something. Stomach doing backflips, Vlad bent down to shoulder his backpack for a distraction.

"Eight fourty eight. Lets go grab Ingrid and be ready for the portkey."

Harry went off ahead - probably for more food - so Vlad went to grab his sister. She was fully packed, staring at the bottle of sunscreen potion like it could answer the questions likely whirling in her mind.

"We need to get going. You done your sun protection?"

"Not yet. Head down, two minutes."

She did have superspeed, Vlad mused. He flicked a hand to float her trunk along behind him out of habit, taking himself down the staircase where everyone was waiting around their usual metal ring port key. And, he noted, Harry was chewing on a solitary strip of bacon. Then again, so was Draco - they couldn't indulge every appetite whim back at Hogwarts, so nobody judged their last-hurrah mealtime.

It was **clearly** on everybody's mind, but nobody acknowledged the silent truth of the situation - they were leaving without one. Severus Snape was still in the wind, and they didn't yet know who their newest Potions teacher was. Nor their newest Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher.

"Ingrid?"

"Just doing her sunscreen stuff. Then we're ready to go."

Sure enough, a minute before the portkey took them away, Ingrid flitted down into existence next to them. Vlad knew it was for dramatic flair when she snapped her fingers to perform a wandless, wordless shrinking charm on her trunk, dropping it into her pocket and reaching for the portkey.

"Two hours alone. Nobody wander off."

Bertrand scanned the whole train and platform, but aside from the trolley lady and the driver - who knew they would be early - they were completely alone. They commandeered their usual end carriage, sat mostly in silence as they relaxed. Harry's eyes kept drifting to the rucksack, and Vlad was certain if he could, he would climb down into the trunk and spend the train journey with Samael. He had warned the serpent about the gap between Harry being able to see him, with the train journey and Welcoming Feast, but it was clear Harry disliked waiting himself.

"I should leave, people will begin to arrive soon."

Bertrand left little room to argue as he left for his usual compartment, in a now probably pointless attempt to seem like little more than a tutor in relationship to students. Ingrid vanished shortly after, with an affectionate stroke for Lily as she left before she was 'caught' hanging out with the Gryffindor students.

Vlad saw them nearly daily, and even he noticed Draco and Harry had broadened over the summer. Everyone else was bound to notice. Draco and Hermione sat holding hands, leaning into each other instinctively... that was immensely normal now, but Vlad still felt the twinges of jealousy that he didn't have that with Harry. Though Harry _was_ sat close to him, and talking softly to Lily which was a beautiful sight. Harry always looked more relaxed speaking parselmouth, especially since he was reunited with Samael.

It was ten thirty when others began to arrive, the deluge of students and parents alike. Vlad was itching to go and scan every student for a dark mark, but he maintained an outward facade of calmness. Several students chattered about the Quidditch World Cup, sound floating through the train windows.

"No surprises, you guys are always in here."

"We like this spot. How was your summer?"

Neville was quiet, but that was pretty normal. Seamus and Dean were nowhere to be seen - normally they at least checked in. With only Neville in their compartment, Harry was free to continue sitting with Lily out on show. There was a hasty scramble to hide her when the lunch trolley appeared, and both Vlad and Hermione chuckled to themselves as Draco and Harry devoured sweets and cakes for half an hour.

It reminded him of when Harry had said his animagus feeling solidified - to a crow. A bird associated with death. That could fly. It could only have been more perfect a match to his future if Harry had a bat animagus form really. His own 'feelings' had taken solid form, but he was against talking about it right now.

"Better put her in her pouch, I have to convince Phantom into her carrier."

His familiar was not impressed about being moved, but Lily made an irritated hissing noise that made Harry laugh when he placed her in the special pouch Vlad had made for her. The necklace portkey still hung around Harry's neck, his glasses back on his face again and sadly breaking up the long shape of cheekbone to jawline Harry was developing. He was so beautiful it _hurt._

"Right. Back to Hogwarts it is."

The trip to the carriages cheered him slightly - he had missed the thestral herd, with their quiet grace and whole saving-their-lives deal. A few made quiet rattles as he passed, but Vlad knew they weren't supposed to make any noise, as many students couldn't see what pulled the carriages and it would be massively disconcerting to hear the death rattle they made with no source.

Eyes turned to the table when they entered the Great Hall, immediately spotting the two new professors. There were already whispers as students noticed there were no empty seats except Hagrid's mammoth seat, as he was bringing the first years, and no Severus Snape as they expected.

If he had to guess, the new female was their Potions teacher, and the man missing a few chunks of skin from his face their new DADA teacher. Draco put paid to that notion as they sat down, recognising the disfigured man.

"No way! That's Regulus Moonshine. I thought he was out of the field for good."

"And to those of us who don't stalk Potion Masters?"

"One of the most _amazing_ inventors ever to grace a cauldron. Notably, he crafted the potion that stops hags needing to consume human flesh, which is why he looks like that. A lot of accidents, but he's a genius. As far as replacements go? Not bad."

The fervor in Draco's eyes said plenty about how excited he was - he was down about his godfather leaving and **still** excited beyond usual at his replacement. That left the female as their new DADA teacher it seemed. Dumbledore stepped up to his lectern, raising a hand and saying no words, but the Hall fell silent anyway.

"I would like to introduce _two_ new members of staff. Professor Regulus Moonshine has kindly agreed to replace Professor Snape as Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House, and we have Professor Dora Tonks filling the post of Defence Against The Dark Arts. Among other announcements, there will be no Quidditch this year-"

The outrage cut the headmaster off mid-speech, even Harry hissing " _no quidditch?_ " next to him as the hall erupted in sound. Given the enormous golden box next to the man, Vlad assumed this 'event' that required new security measures was the cause for cancelled Quidditch, though he obviously didn't know how or what the thing was.

A few firecrackers from the end of the headmasters wand eventually killed the angry chattering, and as the Hall fell silent again, Vlad kept his attention on Dumbledore, waiting for information.

"As I was saying, there is no Quidditch tournament this year. However, there will still be exciting events taking place at Hogwarts. After many, many years of not being held, Hogwarts has been selected to host a great honour and competition. The Triwizard Cup!"

The reaction of the hall at large was rather lacklustre, as it was obvious the great majority of students - Vlad included - had absolutely no idea what the Triwizard Cup was. Out of the corner of his eye, Vlad caught someone skulking in the corner of a doorway behind the head table. He was quite near to where Bertrand was sitting, but the vampire seemed to be aware of that fact judging by his tense posture.

It was hard to make out amongst so many students, but something seemed a little off about the man. Vlad didn't _think_ it was Polyjuice, but when he caught Ingrid's eye across the hall, she flicked her eyes over to the man briefly and gave him a questioning look. Vlad nodded to agree, glad his sister shared some of his magical quirks so he didn't seem totally mad, and had someone to understand.

"To explain this event, we have the head of International Magical Co-Operation, Mr Bartemius Crouch."

The man making Vlad's senses go funny stepped out from the shadows, a thin man with hair that have the appearance of greying from stress rather than age, his hands constantly twitching as he skittered over to Dumbledore with a visibly forced smile. His voice, however, was surprisingly loud and brash.

"A competition! Three schools, each with a champion selected by an impartial judge. At the end, we have a Triwizard champion! Eternal glory, fame and of course, a thousand galleons prize money!"

At this, he clearly had multiplied the attention and attraction. Having never really wanted for money, nor become intensely materialistic even amongst the grandeur of Malfoy Manor, Vlad couldn't understand it properly, though he sympathized as best he could that obviously, that wouldn't apply to everyone.

"However, as the reasons for the Triwizard Tournament were danger and death tolls, the Department of Games has decided, for safety reasons, no student under the age of seventeen will be able to enter!"

More than the cancelled Quidditch, Vlad half expected the... _disappointed_ students to assault the man. Even the Weasley twins were in on the anger, as they wouldn't be seventeen until the following April.

" _ **Silence!**_ "

Albus Dumbledore cut through the hubbub, ending every word dead and Mr Crouch nodded in what he supposed was the diplomatic gratitude expected of a man who worked in something like International Co-operation.

From that tension to the Sorting, it was quite a come down. The hat made many references to unity, but Vlad wasn't really listening. Harry was still upset by the lack of Quidditch, but at least his mate was safe from temptation to enter a contest that, as it transpired, had fallen out of favour because of an astronomical death toll. Probably not as high as the Impaler of Wallachia better known as his father, but still far too dangerous to Harry for Vlad's liking.

Gryffindor gained seven new students, Ravenclaw got six, Slytherin only four and Hufflepuff a massive ten. The baby boom post-defeat of Voldemort had begun to taper off by now. As everyone started eating, greeting new students and discussing the upcoming tournament, Vlad was curious about something else - where were the other two schools? Hogwarts was the only magical school in the UK as far as he knew, so if there were more, they must be travelling a great distance. He knew there were a couple in America, then he also knew of Durmstrang, and from Harry's dreams he knew of Beauxbatons. He really hoped it wasn't Durmstrang.

McGonogall appeared by the table before they had chance to move to leave, informing Vlad and Draco they needed to go with her. Across the hall, he caught their new Potions professor doing the same to Ingrid, though even from a distance he could see the man didn't know why. Given the fact they were the only ones of different species, Vlad had an inkling. As did Ingrid, he could tell by her mild frown of annoyance.

"Is he going to be long?"

"I doubt it Mr Potter. Off with you now!"

Harry was shooed off, and Vlad understood his upset - Samael was in the backpack Vlad had in his trunk, and all the residents of Malfoy Manor were in the habit of magically locking their trunks, so Harry couldn't get it. Vlad tried to apologise with an expression as he was carted off with McGonogall and Draco, Ingrid and Bertrand joining them before long. Personally, he thought it drew attention, but Ingrid did that anyway and nobody dared argue with McGonogall.

Sure enough, they were then joined by the two new professors.

"These are the students you were pre-warned of. Ingrid Dracula is in your house Regulus, and this is her brother Vladimir. Then this is Draco Malfoy."

"Is it imperative I be present Minerva? I find myself thirsty and wish to tend to such a need."

"Mr du Fortunesa, these are your colleagues Regulus Moonshine and Nymphadora Tonks. Off you go."

If Bertrand could flit away, Vlad suspected that he would have. Neither new professor looked surprised to know they were vampires and a werewolf, and it _was_ necessary to their safety that these two know what they were.

"Ah, so ensure these two not be paired up for my class. Between your allergies and such, you would probably fail a third of the curriculum!"

Professor Moonshine was... rather exuberant. After Severus Snape and his reserved, acerbic personality and razor wit, Vlad wasn't sure what to do with him. Professor Tonks seemed relatively unshaken, and Vlad was struggling to place the strangeness of her scent.

"Is it crude if I ask _what_ you are? I don't think I've ever encountered... whatever you are."

Whatever response he was expecting, the womans features shifting and changing until she was an exact duplicate of Ingrid was **not** it.

"I'm a metamorphagus. Entirely human, but I can change my physical features at will. It's genetic."

Vlad thanked her for satisfying his curiosity, and was probably almost as relieved as Ingrid when her features returned to... her violet eyes and dark purple hair wasn't quite normal, but at least there weren't two Ingrids.

 _That_ was a scary thought.

-YDHP-

 **In all honesty, I cannot remember if book!canon had the other schools appearing on the first night. If so, I apologise but I don't think it makes a massive difference.**

 **Regulus Moonshine was a name from Harry Potter wikia, as I needed a Potions teacher since I shamelessly disappeared Severus.**


	35. Uncomfortably Unaware

**Kitsune Jewel - did you enjoy the manic catch up? I'm just as excited for year four, and equally I am surprised we made it here!**

 **HuntOfArtemis - Thank you! I blame the movies and their poorly explained timelines personally, though GoF actually ranks as my least favourite movie aside from the tasks to be honest so I don't pay a huge amount of attention to the first half.**

 **Fangirl-friend2 - at 4,750+ words, the last chapter was, to my average 3,500-4,000 aim, actually long! Sorry you feel shortchanged by it.**

 **To review only named 'guest' - thank you! I'm so excited for year four and I love hearing you guys are too.**

 **Apologies for somewhat scapegoating certain characters, I know I'm terrible for it.**

 **Also, sorry if this is a day late. It is Christmas!**

-YDHP-

Eventually escaping from the awkwardness of being introduced as the vampires and werewolf student, Vlad and Draco bid Ingrid and her new head of house goodnight - they had all been 'warned' not to let on they knew more about the situation than anyone else. Personally, Vlad thought that ridiculous - it was hardly a secret that Draco was Severus Snape's godson, and the man had essentially adopted Draco. How did they expect anyone to buy the truth - Draco had no idea where his godfather was, or why he had left.

"Weird to be back. Seeing everything through new eyes."

"I know what you mean. Come on, before Harry sends a search party thinking the new professor used us for ingredients."

Something in Vlad was unhappy, but he couldn't work out what it was until they got up to the dormitory. Harry was visibly restraining Lily, who was reared up defensively against Seamus.

"It's all rubbish! You-know-who back? As if!"

"Why would I make it up? Why would **anybody**?"

"Attention. Boredom. Dumbledore putting you up to it? I dunno."

Vlad didn't _need_ a wand... hell, he didn't need magic to tear Seamus' head off right now, but he pulled it anyway, backing Seamus up against a bed post.

" _What_ is your problem?"

"You believe the rubbish he comes out with?"

Vlad could prove Voldemort had attacked him by simply pulling up his shirt, but then he would have to explain how he survived. He could hypnotise Seamus into believing Harry, or at least not starting a fight, but the other boys might notice his eyes turning golden.

"Yes."

"Of course _you_ do."

The emphasis Seamus put on his reference to Vlad made him distinctly uncomfortable for reasons best not explored right now.

"What do you mean by that?"

Seamus eyed Draco - stood next to Harry and Neville, it was probably obvious how much the two had grown over the holidays.

"Cus he's a bloody home seeker, he's always staring at Harry. Bet he doesn't know you fancy him?"

His stomach roiled, hands sweating and Vlad was fairly sure his heart stopped altogether for at least a minute. Had he been so careless, so obvious to be found out?

"By that logic, you and Dean are in a secret love affair because you two are best friends too, just like Vlad and Harry."

"I'm no gayboy!"

Vlad snapped out of his abject terror - nobody else seemed to believe Seamus - and pressed his wand up into the Irish boys throat. If he wasn't careful, vampiric tendencies would make themselves clear in defence of his mate.

"You want to believe he's not back? Don't blame us when he kills you. Don't blame Harry for your cowardice and refusal to accept facts."

"Oh, this is getting out of hand. Mr Dracula, Mr Finnegan! Why is it always you two?"

"Because he's a nancy for Potter and his lies about You-Know-Who!"

Professor McGonogall - apparently psychically attuned to the fights in their dormitory - looked between them, watching Harry stop Lily poisoning Seamus, which would probably get him in trouble but seemed highly appealing at the moment.

"Mr Finnegan, while you are entitled to believe whatever you like, Hogwarts does not allow for such words of discrimination. If you repeat words of that nature again, you will find yourself in serious trouble. Mr Dracula, kindly lower your wand."

Their head of house knew perfectly well the twisted length of wood in his hand wasn't necessary to Vlad's magic most of the time, so even as Vlad pushed it back into his pocket he kept eyes on Seamus.

"Now, is this going to be an issue?"

"Damn right. I don't want to share a dorm with the liar and the gay boy."

"Detention Mr Finnegan. I warned you. Now return to your sides of the room, and act like the almost-adults you are. This Triwizard Tournament is about making friends, building bridges. You would do well to consider that. I do not wish to have to address this again."

Vlad wasn't _too_ worried about sharing a room with the irate boy, as Harry had Lily to watch over him as he slept, and Vlad had survived a killing curse to the chest - what could Seamus do to him?

Harry working out he was utterly, madly in love with him? That was a far scarier prospect. Luckily, nobody seemed to have believed it, and Vlad half let himself relax as Seamus stormed off into the bathroom. He popped Phantom out of her carrier, received an affectionate lick to the hand and then flipped open his trunk, removing his trusty old backpack first and foremost.

Harry was itching to obtain his basilisk-trunk, Vlad could see but that would be far too obvious right now. McGonogall swept out of the room with only a warning glance in Vlad's direction - if something were to happen to Seamus, he should fully expect to be blamed for it. That didn't stop the idea of feeding him to Samael for threatening Harry being intensely attractive.

Neville and Dean stayed quiet, though Neville offered Vlad a tight smile when he caught the other boys eye. Draco shrugged, meandered to his bed and began rooting through his new trunk - the silver fastenings on his previous one had been too problematic. The trunk outwardly looked identical, but the new hinges and bolts were all platinum instead now. Harry cast sad eyes at Vlad's backpack, then reclined on his bed trying to soothe a clearly irate Lily.

Not the best start to fourth year, Vlad thought, as Seamus stomped out of the bathroom, then yanked his bedcurtains all the way around - though not before he gave Vlad a cursory glare. Vlad changed quickly in the bathroom, brushing his teeth and staring into his reflection to check he didn't _look_ as dangerous as he felt. There was a flicker of red in his pupils, but even six inches from his face Seamus didn't appear to have noticed, so perhaps he had gotten away with it.

The heavy silence had everyone climbing into bed early - even Draco, though Vlad spied his sweet stash as the werewolf ensured he wouldn't risk being hungry for even a minute. Bedcurtains closed, breathing evened out and soon enough only Harry and he were awake. They whispered quietly as they pulled the hefty trunk out, placing it on the side of Harry's bed carefully.

"Where do I put this?"

"Under your bed I guess. Make sure to put the right charms on though. Don't be too long tonight."

Harry nodded, fingers anxiously opening the fastening and he leapt down almost instantly. Vlad waited, and luckily Harry only spent a nerve-wracking fifteen minutes down there before he reappeared.

"He's ok. Says he expects to be fed soon or I'll have a grumpy pet."

"Good. Better get some sleep."

The trunk fit neatly beneath Harry's bed, multiple locking and a mild Notice-Me-Not charm laid over it. It wouldn't make it invisible, just make it likely to be ignored. He heard Lily and Harry hiss quietly to each other behind the bedcurtains, and Vlad did his usual routine of closing and spelling his own. He couldn't sleep, terrified the entire time that Harry would be forming all sorts of opinions about Vlad and his feelings - he hadn't been physically capable of actually denying it when Seamus had said it, which probably didn't help his secrecy.

First morning at Hogwarts, and gossip was abuzz about this upcoming tournament. Vlad thought Dumbledore probably shouldn't have brought up the event so soon - nothing mildly exciting would even be happening for a few weeks yet. Harry treated him no differently, which was probably a miracle. Seamus was silent, scowling and avoided everyone's eyes until he left the dorm.

"For what it's worth, I don't care what team anyone plays for."

"Same here."

"Me too."

Distinctly uncomfortable - half his dorm mates didn't know he was a biter, let alone definitely gay - Vlad could only shrug as though it didn't apply to him anyway.

"I don't care either. Can we go to breakfast now?"

Even as everyone quietly agreed, and Phantom and Lily curled up in their usual manner on either his or Harry's bed together, Vlad didn't quite feel like he had gotten away with it completely.

* * *

Somehow, it had not occurred to Harry that he would be met with a sudden backlash over his saying Voldemort had returned. At least, not from people he had thought he could trust, had accepted things about him like his Parseltongue abilities. And given that the news had been circulating for months by then, the sudden anger was surprising. Though, he had to wonder if someone had been influencing his opinions over the summer.

Then he turned it on _Vlad,_ starting on him in a truly bizarre manner. Having all but certainty in regards to Vlad being gay, that bit didn't surprise him much. But to call him out and say he was in love with Harry?

 _Ludicrous_.

Right?

Vlad reacted pretty harshly, but he had always been fiercely protective of Harry. Even when he probably didn't deserve it - like when Vlad had jumped in front of a swarm of dementors for him, when Harry had barely been speaking to him. Like the killing curse he had taken, without hesitation. That didn't mean he was **in love** with Harry. Vlad was a _vampire._ That made the idea especially ridiculous.

Why was he even coming up with reasoning? It wasn't true, that was all he needed to think. When Neville brought up a quiet but firm sentence about not caring who was gay, straight or something in between, Draco and Dean were quick to agree. Vlad was slower, and clearly avoiding the topic as he answered before they left the dorm.

The whole school was abuzz with excitement for the upcoming tournament, but Harry was annoyed about the cancelled Quidditch still - this was lessening the amount of years they could consecutively win the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor. And the idea of a ton more students swarming around the school, it didn't sit well with him.

It was a couple of days before he had a real chance to go and see Samael, taking with him the huge hunk of raw meat the basilisk had been eagerly awaiting.

"Thank you wizard, I have been hungering."

"Sorry for the delay" Samael bit and tore up a chunk, hissing delightedly at the taste "but I can't just stroll through the halls with a massive meat ball then jump into the magical trunk full of mythical serpent any old time."

"I understand. Still, you have my gratitude."

He let the serpent eat in peace, then followed him through the archway from sleep room to 'outside' room. Samael curled himself in a loose sort of circle, letting Harry rest up against his tail so they could talk face to face.

"So, what troubles you wizard?"

"How do you know I'm troubled?"

"Experience. Our bond is a two way connection remember."

Harry _had_ wanted some clarity to his thoughts, something often afforded to him by a conversation with his enormous, lethal pet.

"You always call Vlad _my_ vampire. Why?"

"It is much faster than referring to him as the vampire to be trusted with your well-being, a trait not commonly attached to such a species."

"Is that the only reason?"

"I struggle to understand the nuance of your words. Kindly ask a straight question?"

"Do you think Vlad is in love with me?"

Samael lifted his head slightly, the whole enormous thing tilting to one side and his big yellow eyes filled with confusion.

"I confess, I don't have a comprehension of things like romance. I have very limited contact with humans."

That wasn't really an answer, but Samael had a very good point - what did a basilisk who had spent over ninety percent of the last millennia asleep, and even more alone, understand something like that? Still, Harry wanted some reassurance he and Vlad weren't on very different pages in their friendship. It wouldn't do for Vlad to be... _expecting_ more from Harry in the future, something that could permanently damage their friendship.

"Take a guess."

"He is protective of you, as I would be, as the small snake would be. Is that criteria for love? I know not."

That threw up a stark realisation for Harry - he really didn't have much comparison basis for _love._ His parents had died young, and while Harry was sure he loved their memories, he didn't really know what it felt like, or should look like. He and Draco said they saw each other like brothers... was that a platonic love? It wasn't the same as he felt towards Vlad. It was so hard to quantify, because Vlad knew him inside and out, secrets and fears not held between them. Vlad had saved his life multiple times. There weren't words for the depths of their friendship.

But all the same, Harry doesn't know that that's what love was like.

He considered Draco and Hermione - they had both expressed sentiments of love for each other, were tactile and close with each other constantly. Vlad was fairly tactile with him, but then Harry was the one who would crawl into bed with Vlad after a nightmare. If that meant Vlad was in love with him, the same would apply in reverse.

Now, _that_ he was certain wasn't true. Vlad was probably gay, but Harry definitely wasn't. He had had a girlfriend and liked that. There he went again, making excuses like he had to justify his own certainties to himself. It was very confusing.

"Wizard? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry, lost in thought. You usually need to sleep after eating, and I should get going. I'll come see you soon, promise."

"Very well. I shall rest. I hope your thought was fruitful."

His mammoth digestive system meant it took a while for the actual hunger to be satisfied, and Samael slept through the first twelve or so hours of it. So Harry rubbed his hand over the scales of his snout, got the gentle bumping against his chest Samael was fond of, and let the serpent go first as they left - Samael for his warmer sleep room, and Harry for normal level ground again. It was an awkward climb - the trunk was on his bed, hidden by his bedcurtains. It was risky, and Harry barely managed not to fall over as he carefully closed the lid, peeked out to check nobody was looking and replaced the trunk, then the charms under his bed.

The tension with Seamus did not ease, though the detention for his homophobic language seemed to have at least deterred him from directly attacking Vlad with words. For now at least.

They had their first Potions lesson that morning, the first with the new professor who seemed to be overall a hit with the other years. Draco was still excited, though Harry suspected there was much more simmering beneath the surface, but also a determination to prove himself as capable without his godfather, or rather **to** his godfather in the future. He knew from Vlad that the new professors both knew Vlad and his sister were biters, that Draco was a bitten werewolf, and that meant apparently Vlad and Draco could never be paired up for Potions again.

"Good morning boys and girls! I am Professor Regulus Moonshine, and for the thousandth time - no, I don't actually make moonshine, my creation of the Hag Suppression Potion was not fuelled by an illicit love affair, nor do I have any information about the whereabouts of your previous instructor, or why he chose to leave the post. I was asked to take the post, I have. Any more questions?"

Most of the class was stunned into an inarticulate silence, or simply had no questions to ask.

"No? Excellent. Let's begin!"

The missing chunks of flesh gave him an overall rough, damaged appearance, but it was clear very quickly that Moonshine delighted, thrilled, even excelled in the position of teacher. He encouraged questions, interacted with each of them at least once and even Neville had a passable potion by the end of their class.

"Wonderful! Homework is simple - revise your interactions between poisons and their antidotes, much of the curriculum this year will be testing how well you can _understand_ the art of Potions. And no, you can't take the Wit-Sharpening Potion you just made. Off you go students, before Professor McGonogall has my head! What's left of it at least."

They scattered out, heading for Transfiguration unsure what had just happened. Hermione naturally fell into step, hand sliding through her boyfriends as a second nature and Harry wondered for a second if that's what people who thought there was more to him and Vlad expected. Vlad had quite small hands, even though he was taller than Harry, so it probably wouldn't look that different.

Why was he thinking about it again? Shaking the thoughts off like an irritating fly, Harry returned Vlad's tired smile and wondered what had kept him awake last night. With Vlad it could be anything - Phantom licking his ear, pain in his chest scar, reading for fun, bad dreams, homework, sometimes he got absorbed in weird books full of Latin... And he had that vampire test coming up soon, the one Ingrid had already finished with.

"You thought the Potions prof was cool? You haven't had Defence yet have you ickle fourth years?"

Fred and George shot them identical twin grins, not even noticing where George jr (as they called her) sat between them, putting grape jam on her chicken sandwich.

"No. Is Professor Tonks good then?"

He would always be a little confused by the twins' back and forth, finishing each others thoughts thing, he was sure.

"Good? She's brilliant."

"I mean, I miss Lupin too"

"but she's on his level skill wise for sure."

"Anyway, we had better be off."

"Pranks to plan."

"We mean, homework to do. Quick, before Hermione starts telling us off Fred!"

They hurried off before Hermione could pop at them for 'encouraging' rule breaking in the younger students. George Giles needed zero help there, as she was frequently landing herself in mischief too - Harry's favourite for this year was charming one of the suits of armour near the library to explode with glitter whenever someone walked past it. She may have gotten away with it if she hadn't been too tempted to stay and laugh at the results. Poetic justice was probably that her detention entailed cleaning the mess up without magic.

"George. Why do you do such weird things to your food?"

The hesitant question from one of her friends was something they all wondered, but never dared ask.

"Well, why not? Everyone eats the same things, every single day. Never trying new things, which must get super boring. Besides, we have classes involving turning animals into stuff like tea cosies and desks. What's so wrong about pickles dipped in yoghurt?"

Shaking his head, Harry finished devouring his two bacon cheeseburgers for lunch before they had to leave for Defence. The door opened by itself, the class filing in to take their usual seats. The new lady teacher stood silently, a stern expression on her face. When the last stragglers were in and the door slammed behind them, the heavy frown broke into a beaming smile.

"Hello! I am Professor Tonks, but you can call me Tonks. Professor makes me feel old. I am an Auror, currently agreeing to teach here at Hogwarts for this year and that is all you need to know for now. Let's begin the learning!"

They spent only ten minutes flicking through their textbook as a sort of itinary for the year, then Tonks had them all stand up and practice disarming charms and shields. Vlad and Harry had to be very careful not to look too well practiced, Vlad had to ensure he was seen using words _and_ his wand, and Vlad, Harry and Draco all had to be wary of not displaying too much power - their non-human DNA seemed to translate into more power but that was all very much under wraps.

"Wonderful! Some of you don't suck. Right, read the chapter on dugbogs in your textbooks for homework, next class I start teaching you how not to killed instantly by some ferocious dark creatures. Off you go!"

Dugbogs were ugly creatures, with a bad habit of hiding just beneath the surface of earthy ground before popping up to bite a chunk from any passing legs. They had thick, shell-like backs that made most lighter spells simply bounce off. Harry made a mental note to avoid anywhere they had been spotted. Vlad still looked tired, yawning as he greeted Phantom upon their return to the dorm.

"You ok?"

"Mmm. Just stressed a little for Halloween. Tests, new arrivals. Plus, the full is next week. Prepare for edgy Draco."

Harry didn't keep track of it so well, but Vlad had a lunar calendar that he referred to, and Draco _was_ practically a walking lunar calendar now. He caught the amber tint to normally grey eyes, the way Draco ate more hungrily at every meal and the strange way he seemed to smell different, though Harry couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"What's your ''special room' like?"

"Nothing special. With the potion I'm essentially harmless, the room is designed to keep everyone else out far more than it is to keep me in. There's some silver in the door hinges though, the wolf won't go near the door. I'm uncomfortable doing it now."

He was used to Draco referring to 'the wolf' as a seperate being of sorts - it was apparently common among bitten wolves, helped to see their affliction as less making them a monster. At least until the full moon. Remembering his agonized howls before, Harry half expected the whole school to hear Draco Malfoy scream in pain as the full moon rose.

They didn't, however, and Draco appeared back the next afternoon exhausted but otherwise happy to have that moon under his belt. Now just to get through the rest of the year. Simple.

 _Yeah right,_ Harry's brain reminded him flatly. _When do we get an easy year?_

-YDHP-

 **If you celebrate it, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays. If not, that's cool but I hope you had a good Decembertime anyway.**

 **I feel like this chapter comes across rushed, but I can't pinpoint why I think that. So if it seems the same to you, sorry!**


	36. Selection Box

**Jon - you're back! And I was in stitches reading your reviews. Not sure how you think you can post something to corrupt _my_ mind... I write Vlad/Ingrid fanfiction :P. I've also written a Polyjuice fic... Keep trying!**

 **I did like your little attempt, and the stretching leather sounds hilarious because, well, what on earth is stretching it? 'Ding Dong the witch is dumped' was another highlight!**

 **YokaiAngel & VampireHarry the 2 - thank you!**

 **Guest with no name - thank you for reviewing!** **yes, the line break is to separate POV, sorry if it wasn't clear that it changed from Vlad to Harry. Nearly every chapter is split into both boys POV, unless it makes better sense to stick with just one here and there.**

 **Notes for this chapter... probably non - canon plants and spell stuff, I think that's it...**

-YDHP-

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry felt his wand jitter in his hand, but it didn't go anywhere. Jason Jones, one of the twins with a serious hero-complex for Vlad (who had admittedly rescued them and Draco from half a dozen werewolves) was occasionally invited up to their dorm, to practice defensive magic. His pronunciation was flawless, but he lacked focus and grew nervous if it didn't go right the first time.

"Try to relax. You can't _angst_ his wand out of his hand."

"I'm never gonna get it right!"

Vlad tried to smile encouragingly, coming to stand next to the second year student. Holding out the wand he rarely used outside of class, Vlad demonstrated the correct movement.

"Don't flourish it as much, but also don't worry about aiming exactly for the wand. Close enough will do in an emergency. Go on, try again."

This time Harry's wand did jerk out of his hand, and neither of them pointed out that in a duel someone would have a much stronger grip on their wand - let the boy bask in success. Harry retrieved his wand, congratulating Jason as he beamed.

"Right. Try again, then we can move on to stunners."

As a clearly exhausted second year ambled off - having drunk a glass of water Vlad had dosed with a small amount of replenisher - Harry offered him a grin.

"You're so patient with younger students considering you're the little brother."

"Exactly. If I have the patience to deal with Ingrid, who _can't_ I handle?"

Laughing, Harry gave him a friendly shoulder-shove then went back to his Herbology essay. Both Vlad and Draco had to be conveniently absent from one of their lessons - both being allergic to wolfsbane. Of course, Vlad would only get very sick - Draco would _die._ As best he could tell, that was the only class he would have to miss, and Draco would only have to be 'off sick' from a lesson later on in the year about silver-thorn roses. A valuable potions ingredient, but mildly sentient and with a bad habit of spitting thorns if disturbed.

Professor Sprout didn't miss a trick - the woman kept a constant supply of wolfsbane growing, as it had to be fresh each month for Draco's potion. It was the fifth year classes responsibility to tend to the crops constantly, their fourth years class merely an introduction to the magical properties of an otherwise rare plant.

"Who ever discovered bubotubers? They are truly disgusting."

"Someone who made the mistake of getting too close. And got spat on. At least, I assume that's how one discovers such a pungent yet useful plant."

Bubotuber pus was useful in a variety of potions and ointments - even one for acne - but had to be extracted the right way, and smelled like petrol on a good day. However, the plant also spat defensively, and the defensive spray left one with mild burns or huge blisters. At least, that's what his textbook said. Vlad would take it's word, not having any desire to go annoying the tubers.

Still, Vlad would take a whole month of bubotubers squeezing over attempting to care for blast-ended skrewts. They periodically spat sparks out of what Vlad could only _assume_ was their rear-end, burning anyone behind them but it was impossible to tell which end was which until that happened. According to Hagrid, the ones with suckers on the bottom were female, and the ones without were males, and would grow scorpion-like stingers.

Hagrid constantly had them try to tempt the skrewts with various foodstuffs, but so far they had turned their nose up (metaphorically speaking) at raw meat, every kind of vegetable, a dead ferret and even spat out where they bit students (which Madam Pomfrey got annoyed with, as the bites swelled up and blistered in seconds). So far, out of a hundred, they had already lost ten and Vlad suspected they were simply eating each other.

"Jus' need ter figure out wha' they like! Now, pop 'em in their boxes."

Fighting not to roll his eyes, Vlad joined the attempts to convince the slimy, smelly creatures into boxes Hagrid had lined with _frilly cushions,_ then added blankets. The lids were nailed on, and they all blissfully escaped to Charms class smelling strongly of burning. Next he would be putting collars and leashes on them like happy little puppies.

"Today students, we will begin work on summoning and deflecting charms. Notably, the _accio_ and the _depulso_ charms. We are going to start with these cushions, for obvious reasons. Do try not to set them alight Mr Finnegan..."

Seamus visibly scowled, and Vlad half expected him to try transfiguring the cushion to stone before using the Depulso charm to fling them at Vlad. Vlad had already mastered Accio, and magical or not he would be able to summon or artfully throw things away from him post-transformation. However, he couldn't show that off. He also had an inkling why they were learning Depulso rather than Expulso - Expulso was far easier to overpower, and could be used on _people._ Sure, Depulso could be used to fling an object at someone, but it couldn't fling a human.

Though right now, Vlad bet Seamus wished otherwise. Several cushions hit him, followed by challenging stares a Dracula should never ignore or back down from. All of which Vlad forced himself not to react to, keeping an eye instead on Harry and Draco to make sure their fluctuating powers weren't too obvious - all of their year had gone through the first power spurt, it would be somewhat suspicious if they displayed new magical strength on top of their physical changes Vlad heard many commenting on.

The jealous scowls he made hearing girls squeal about how 'buff' Harry was getting were completely irrelevant of course.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't miss the 5am wake up calls but I miss Quidditch. When does this bloody event start?"

"Uh. I think the other schools arrive on Halloween. At least my test has been arranged for the week before, to ensure the VHC don't cross paths with the visiting students."

"How many more after this?"

"Just the one, when I'm fifteen. They used to make us take four, but then realised it was pointless to make us take one _after_ we get our powers, since the point of them is to ensure we are competent to handle having them."

Harry nodded to show he understood, eyes on Samael where he was working on his latest gigantic meatball. Both of them being in the trunk was something of a risk, but most students were out enjoying a rare indian summer day in late September. Harry was itching to visit the serpent, and as usual Vlad was powerless against the emerald eyes.

Phantom was at the doorway of the bathroom, watching her paw make tiny ripples that slowly spread over the mammoth body of water. Smiling fondly at his brave familiar - her eyes flashed red when she stood on Samael's enormous head, but otherwise she seemed remarkably at home down here - Vlad watched Harry hiss quietly to Lily. Sometimes, he wondered how everyone wasn't utterly, painfully in love with Harry James Potter - he was _beautiful_ , inside and out.

"Lily said the furry one thinks this year will be a test of sorts. Samael concurs."

"Well, the Triwizard Tournament challenges are tests of skill, courage, bravery and apparently being able to dance the line between death wish and adrenaline junkie. One champion died against a _manticore._ I'd rather go up against a pack of wolves at the full moon."

"Vlad. You _have_ done that."

"Oh yeah. Ok. Without a thestral. Speaking of which, I should go visit them soon."

They lapsed into silence while Samael finished eating, then poked his enormous head out of the archway to look at them. Even knowing he was magically protected by Harry, Vlad felt somewhat unnerved by the huge yellow eyes. He trusted Harry to know Samael was safe, but those eyes had killed a boy, petrified others. It was Riddle's fault of course, but Ingrid's frozen face and the abject panic that they may never have been able to cure her crept up on him sometimes.

Forcing himself up, Vlad ran a hand across the scaled snout. Samael made a low hissing sound, but Harry didn't seem concerned by it so he figured he was safe for now. It was a little easier to accept the docile nature when the nearly seventy foot serpent was somehow able to resemble a purring cat. The absurdity of it all amused him, and Harry appeared next to him, hissing softly before placing a hand next to Vlad's.

"He needs to sleep now, digestion takes it out of him. Thanks for coming down here with me. I know it was tough for you to deal with what Riddle made him do to Ingrid, I appreciate you making the effort to keep him in my life."

Well, now Vlad was essentially liquid on the inside. Harry's expression was softened, did funny things to his heart even if it was mostly aimed at the basilisk next to him. Vlad almost forgot how to _talk_ , managing to get a fairly steady couple of words out.

"No problem."

He got the distinct feeling Lily, Phantom and Samael were all painfully aware of the effect Harry had on him, the way his heart was doing somersaults and how it was taking every single atom of effort in his body not to just blurt out how he felt.

"Come on then Phantom, let's leave the very large snake to sleep."

His familiar clambered up onto his shoulder, allowing Vlad the privilege of carrying her up the ladder while Harry satisfied himself with making sure Samael made it to his heat lamp. A quick check satisfied him nobody was about to see both Vlad and Harry exit from his closed bedcurtains, hopping down to the ground and watching Phantom chase her tail like she had never before noticed it's existence.

Harry came with him the next time he went to visit the thestrals, relaxing further the more time he spent with them and eventually smiling when a foal let out a high-pitched rattle and bumped his leg gently.

"You really like these things, huh?"

"Wouldn't have gotten out of that pack of wolves without these guys. And they are thoughtful, intelligent and morbidly beautiful. What's not to like?"

His mate gave him a bemused look, but raised a hand to pat the thestral nearest on it's boney nose with a sort of smile. Another bumped Vlad's shoulder, whinnying happily when Vlad rubbed it's head. He hadn't yet learned how to tell males and females apart, they were all roughly the same size at full maturity, and there were no gestating females. Nor was he about to go rooting for more obvious signs... it wasn't _that_ important.

Each thestral turned in one direction, eerily in sync and perfectly silent as more delicate hoofs sounded. When Vlad saw the faint glow emanating from its pure white body, he knew he needed to move before the unicorn tried to gut him. Searching for a hasty escape route, he felt something dig uncomfortably between his legs, then jerk him up and back to land rather painfully on a thestrals back.

"What's up?"

"Unicorns and vampires. Bad mix. Their blood is basically poison to us, and they would usually like nothing better than to run me through."

Rubbing the thestral soothingly, and in gratitude as they defended him from the passing unicorn herd who glared angrily in his direction, Vlad indicated Harry to join him just in case. If it meant Harry slid his arms around Vlad's waist for stability when their steed pattered and stomped in warning to the unicorn nearest? Well, that was merely a happy coincidence.

"Thank you guys. I better get out of here before they come back, but I'll come see you soon ok?"

A couple ruffled their huge, leathery wings, rattling and nudging him gently with their heads. Vlad had taken that to be affectionate, since they hadn't eaten him yet. And continued to keep him safe.

"We study unicorns in fifth year Care of Magical Creatures."

"I know. They don't let male students near them anyway, but I'll have to be careful anyway. At the very least use a scent blocking charm, and be glad they don't have proper horns when they are still foals."

Harry's heartbeat thrummed steadily against his back, making Vlad feel very warm for a cool October afternoon. Still, it would become suspicious if he didn't move soon. Harry dropped back down first, leaving Vlad feeling cold inside for a second as he followed.

"I've got tutoring tonight, let's get you back to the castle before you find your way to trouble."

"It finds _me_!"

Chuckling, Vlad almost forgot himself and reached for Harry's hand. What was wrong with him? Harry didn't mind him gripping his wrist, but they had _certainly_ never held hands. Shoving them in his pockets to make sure they behaved, hastening to get out of the forest before the unicorns found him.

"I wonder if your patronus would be a thestral."

"Who knows? I never got around to learning it. Maybe that's on my to-do list."

"Focus on your test first!"

Bertrand assured him over a book on Vampire Lore that Vlad was prepared for his test, and uttered warnings to be careful when the visiting schools arrived soon. Vlad was more concerned about the vampiric side of his life at that moment - he knew that, being the chosen one, at some point in the future he would be expected to become Grand High Vampire and lead the whole race. It wasn't a hugely appealing thought.

All the same, his test passed fairly quickly and he was thrilled to see the back of the coffin loiterer who came to administer his test - with Professor Tonks and Bertrand watching closely to ensure the vampire didn't go wandering and snack on a child. Leaning back in his chair and scrubbing a hand over his face, he sighed with relief.

"One to go. Cannot wait for this to be over."

"You say over. Don't you become an actual vampire afterwards?"

Vlad mock-glared at his DADA teacher, who merely grinned in response. She was peculiar but intelligent, magically powerful but also insanely clumsy - he had lost count how many times she walked into her desk, tripped over her chair or coughed/sneezed and turned her hair a different colour. At least she didn't seem fazed by teaching vampires and werewolves, she wasn't even giving Bertrand sidelong, wary glances.

"Better prepare for the impending chaos. Bloody Triwizard Tournament. I should get back to lesson planning."

Tonks made to leave, somehow catching her boot on the doorway and stumbling. A huffing sound, a warning "say nothing" glare and some straightened shoulders later, the woman was on her way out. Bertrand shook his head, retrieving his hourglass from the table to return to his quarters.

Halloween approached with an increase in the fervour around Hogwarts - the other schools would be arriving soon, which meant the tournament would begin. Vlad wasn't a big fan of Halloween - Ingrid enjoyed it, and their father celebrated it like breathers did Christmas - enthusiastically. Harry _hated_ Halloween, the anniversary of a madman murdering his parents. Only a long time talking with Samael seemed to cheer him up, and at least he was smiling.

"Come along! We have to be outside to greet them!"

Hermione poked her head in their dorm, shooing at them to get a move on and subtly handing Vlad a folded piece of parchment. Pretending to double back for his shrunken-down backpack, he unfolded it with only Harry still in the room. Automatically, he recognised Bertrand's solid, neatly compacted writing.

 _Will be Dark Marks. Headmaster warns not to make a fuss or give yourself away._

It was probably good he had been warned, but it made his skin crawl to imagine **more** of Riddle's cannon-fodder-minions infesting the castle. Crushing the parchment as his fist clenched, Harry gently prompted him to start walking. At least they didn't have to wear uniforms for this meet and greet, and Harry was looking utterly _edible_ in his green shirt, paired with the black jeans that fit his legs like they were custom made for the job.

They took their spots in the fourth year Gryffindor line, and Vlad caught Ingrid wearing sunglasses and looking utterly bored. He wasn't totally sure what they were looking for - portkey? Someone just strolling through the gates? It definitely wasn't flying horses he expected, something straight out of a fairytale as they pulled an enormous carriage along. He expected many students, but that turned out to be a wrong assumption - the size of the carriage was to allow for the _huge_ headmistress. She was even a few inches taller than Hagrid.

Almost certainly another half giant. Who Hagrid was being really rather unstable about checking out, and Vlad wondered to himself if it tickled where Dumbledores hat touched just below her chin as he stepped up to greet Madame Maxime.

Many of the boys started acting like fools as the Beauxbatons girls alighted the carriage, all flawlessly dressed, perfectly made up and exuding elegance and grace. One of them was certainly not pure human, her scent carrying hints of fire and a sickly sweet floral note. Her hair shone almost unnaturally, and a collective sigh ran through most boys when she merely looked in their direction, smiling with perfect teeth.

Oh, Ingrid was going to _hate_ her.

Vlad wasn't feeling too charitable toward her either - Harry was in on the mindless staring. It was clear she sensed that there were other humanoid-creatures around her, subtle but definite stares fixing on Draco, himself, Ingrid and then Bertrand. Then the 'lovely ladies' stood in a clearly choreographed but somehow effortless looking formation, and they all awaited the arrival of school number three.

Many of them looked skyward, as though the next school would come swooping in on dragons or something. The wrenching, squelching racket came instead from the lake, a frighteningly huge whirlpool opening up without disturbing the surrounding water. The gap essentially spat out a - perfectly dry - ship, the deep red, black and brown colours reminding him of the Bulgarian Quidditch team, and Vlad suddenly knew his fear of Durmstrang had been realised.

"If he's here I'm going to feed him to Samael."

Only Harry caught his whisper, everyone else focused more on the spectacle over in the Great Lake, snorting with laughter even as he tried to soothe Vlad.

"Seventeen and over. He's our year, why would he be here?"

Vlad relaxed for a moment, then felt anger flare as he caught a flash of flaming orange hair amongst mostly ashy blonde and various shades of brown to black. His attention was torn between that and the sense of Dark Mark pulsing in waves off of the headmaster of Durmstrang, a weedy looking man with a scruffy goatee and eyes that unsettled Vlad.

Quite a few of the Durmstrang boys obviously knew what Vlad and Ingrid were, though he didn't know what gave them away but he remembered being told most magical vampires ended up in Durmstrang, where dark magic was part of the curriculum and dark creatures part of everyday life. A few more students gave off a similar Marked vibe, though not as strong as the man their own headmaster greeted as 'Igor Karkaroff'. He practically jumped at the sight of Bertrand, and Vlad heavily suspected the man had flashed his fangs again.

For whatever reason, the Hogwarts students were sent in first, and Vlad caught a chilling glance to see Ron Weasley was certainly there. Ingrid was going to flip. As they got in, he caught her sitting between Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott - perfectly likeable boys in his experience. The visitors came flooding in after, and it took a concerted effort not to hex Weasley from across the Hall when he blatantly sought out Ingrid.

The only saving grace was that Bertrand looked as surprised as Vlad was to see the defective Weasley, because if the tutor had known and not said, both Vlad and Ingrid would stake him - mate or not. He caught sight of the main attraction Durmstrang had to offer - Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian seeker. He looked even more severe and dour in person, wrapped in the fur cloak and thick uniform the other boys had on. It would be cold in Bulgaria, he imagined. Ronald Weasley was tall and gangly, not dwarfed by his older peers but still skinny, weedy-looking next to the broader, more mature Durmstrang men.

Beauxbatons settled amongst both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Durmstrang sat with the Slytherins, which didn't honestly surprise him, but Viktor Krum did. He caught the way Ron tried to worm his way into seats near Ingrid, grabbed two of what he presumed were his friends and monopolised the three seats opposite Ingrid and her two guardian Hogwarts students. Against his will, Vlad's opinion of the seeker climbed up a notch.

Harry noticed remarkably little - he was eyeing the Beauxbatons girls still. Rolling his eyes at the idiot he was apparently destined to spend eternity with, Vlad tried to turn his attention to the Head Table, where the huge golden box resided. It was like an ornate, bejeweled, upright coffin really. As everyone sat down, settling, a heavy silence settled over the hall in anticipation.

"Eternal glory, that is what awaits!"

Dumbledore waved his wand over the big gold box, which melted away into thin air, revealing a fairly rudimentary looking goblet. It was half the size of the container that had housed it, and looked to have been roughly carved out of wood. Only a series of dark, circular stones pressed deep into the wood gave it any air of importance, and it gave off quite an aura of magic that hummed through the hall.

"The Goblet of Fire! Anyone wishing to submit themselves to the tournament need only write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly! If chosen, there's no turning back. As from this moment, The Triwizard Tournament has begun."

Almost as if it had been perfectly timed, the goblet lit itself - a flickering but sustaining blue-white blaze hovering a few inches in thin air, casting nearby faces into a harsh glare. Whispers filled the hall, Hogwarts gossip already buzzing and several students clearly declaring they would be entering. With everything else going on his life, Vlad couldn't imagine anything worse. He was infinitely glad Ingrid was too young - she would enter on _principle_ , and Vlad didn't want her dying for pride.

* * *

Eternal glory... Lifelong fame... Harry had already nailed that by existing as a baby who somehow survived a killing curse. He hadn't asked Samael about that much, preferring to attempt to drag facts and thoughts on the future out of him.

He was jerked out of a quiet reverie by Vlad pestering him - naturally - to go do some homework.

"Come on. Library. It'll be mostly empty with everyone stalking the visitors."

Vlad had a wry grin playing across his mouth - knowing Harry himself had been a little distracted by the pretty girls. Still, Vlad was probably checking out the big muscly Bulgarian boys.

"Let's go."

Vlad settled in behind a towering pile of books on Arithmancy, so Harry left him to bore himself rigid and pretended to study his Healing texts. There were a couple of quiet giggles, appearing to come from absolutely nowhere as he looked around. It became apparent quickly what the cause was - Viktor Krum was sat staring intently at a book, and occasionally a girl would peer around a hidden bookcase.

Harry hadn't heard the Quidditch player speak a word, but Vlad seemed to watch him now and then - Krum always sat near Ingrid, keeping the awful surprise of Ron Weasley far away from the Slytherin girl. Harry still remembered _that_ rage, safely contained in the trunk with Samael where he could fire off some angry hexes and colourful expletives before Harry got the actual explanation.

"Wanted to see his family. Slimy little git, his family are the ones who sent him away. He's been ordered to stay away from Ingrid, but he was still smirking. Me and Ingrid both told the professors warning us - _us!_ \- to stay away from **him** that if he goes near her, she's going to tear his throat out. Smug bastard. I still want to drag him down here. He'll be lucky if all he gets is his other wrist broken."

Vlad didn't get _angry_ often, Harry hadn't seen him like this... ever. Vampires didn't get mad - they got even. He didn't even relish causing pain, but Harry was actually a little worried - not for Ronald Weasley, but that Vlad would eventually regret losing his temper at him. Samael, by contrast, appeared to be finding Vlad's explosive anger hilarious.

"Why Samael? Just strap him to a thestral and ask them to drop him in the acromantula territory again?"

"Don't tempt me."

He caught the red tinge in Vlad's eyes, the vampire inside his usually mild-mannered best friend showing and Harry distinctly remembered being very confused by the mild shiver that ran down his spine. He wasn't _scared_ of Vlad - Vlad would, in his own words, bathe in garlic and dance in front of Ingrid before he ever hurt Harry.

All the same, Harry half expected to see fangs appear even though Vlad had well over a year before he got those.

Shaking himself back to the present - Vlad studying, Viktor Krum loitering and a horde of fangirls stalking him - Harry wondered about Igor Karkaroff. From the Weasley twins, he was painfully aware the man was an 'ex death eater' - Voldemort didn't seem like a ditchable date - who had escaped Azkaban by naming several more. Who thought _he_ was a candidate for moulding young minds? It boggled his.

"You're not even studying."

"Because I don't take Arithmancy, and I left my Charms essay upstairs."

That won him the usual eyeroll, and as he continued perusing the library, Harry couldn't help wondering - was Krum... was he _checking Vlad out?_ It was hard to tell, dark eyes under thick eyebrows, but he kept looking over. And not at Harry. Though, maybe he was just trying to work out how Vlad and Ingrid were related - they weren't all that similar.

Students entering the Triwizard cup became quite the spectacle, from the girls fawning over Durmstrang to the boys ogling the Beauxbatons girls. Hogwarts entries included Cedric Diggory, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson. Diggory seemed to be the popular choice - girls who weren't drooling after Krum and co were giggling and fussing with their hair whenever the Hufflepuff passed.

More spectacular were the underage students - to ensure nobody under seventeen could enter, the Headmaster had drawn a thick white circle around it, which everyone called an age line. Nobody under the age of seventeen could so much as cross it. Or so they thought.

The first to try was a girl from Ravenclaw that Harry thought may have the surname Fawcett, and at first there was awe and wonder as she stepped over the line no problem. She stepped around, then reached to add her name to the goblet. Almost as soon as her parchment touched flame, the slow burn became a hissing whip of fire that slid beneath her feet and tossed her into the opposite wall at speed with an enormous bang.

It quickly transpired the wall had a cushioning charm of some sort, as the girl was relatively unharmed. Except her pride. Fred and George, on the other hand, were convinced they could trick it. Hermione, comfortably leant into her boyfriend on the benches Harry felt had been added solely for this particular entertainment, was their biggest nay-sayer.

"Dumbledore himself drew this. You really think _you_ can outsmart him, particularly with something as dimwitted as an aging potion?"

A few Durmstrang students were sat with Ingrid, clearly waiting for the spectacle to begin - they had already clocked the Weasley twins were pranksters and class clowns. They also appeared to hugely dislike the youngest Weasley boy - he mostly sat alone, scowling unless the headmaster was around. Then most would - blatantly faking it - act cordially toward him, and that didn't sit right with Harry. What did _Ron Weasley_ have that Igor Karkaroff wanted?

"That's why it's so brilliant."

"Because he wouldn't suspect"

"Such a dimwitted attempt."

"Watch, ye of little faith!"

They played to the crowd, eating up the cheers as they strolled around inside the age circle. There was even a few seconds delay as their parchment was absorbed by the magical flames. This time around, when they were flung the length of the hall and stumbled upright, it was impossible to miss their 'new look'.

"They've gone as Dumbledore for Halloween!"

George Giles and friends were in fits of laughter a few rows down, watching as Fred and George Weasley straightened up with identical long grey hair, complete with matching long grey-white beards. They immediately began to blame each other for the mix up, scrapping on the floor and it made for an amusing sight - stray beards being flung around and a flurry of scruffy hair obscuring them from face to shoulder leaving only random limbs to shoot out from the chaos.

"Ah, it would be _those two._ "

Harry turned to see Professor McGonogall next to their bench, rolling her eyes as she strolled towards the kerfuffle. A soundless spell forced the two apart, and they both scrambled to their feet under their head of houses glare.

"Let me guess. Aging potion?"

"Yes Professor."

"Sorry Professor."

"You're not the first. Madam Pomfrey is currently treating two third year Hufflepuff students with similar... issues. Off you go. Detention Saturday for unauthorised potion use."

The twins chorused "yes professor" in sync, then hurried in the direction of the staircase to presumably get a shave and hair dye from the school nurse. Attention was diverted as Viktor Krum finally entered, the international Quidditch player escorted by his headmaster as though he couldn't possibly manage it all by himself. Even his classmates cheered, which confused him a little as surely they each wanted to be chosen too?

"Please let me hex him."

"No. Too many people."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with my rule abiding girlfriend?"

Harry snorted with laughter as he overheard Vlad, Hermione and Draco - it didn't take much work to guess who they were talking about, Ron Weasley offering Vlad a challenging stare from his safe spot hiding behind the Durmstrang Headmaster. Even Ginny wanted nothing to do with her youngest older brother, so his 'family' excuse had fallen utterly flat but now the arguement was that he couldn't be sent back alone.

Vlad's suggestions had merit.

"Lock him in a stone coffin and drop him down that whirlpool. See where he ends up. Cover him in baby spiders then use an engorgio charm. Dip him in single malt whiskey and feed him to Madame Maxime's horses."

It was a little odd hearing Vlad sound so much like Ingrid or Samael all of a sudden, and he was rather creative with his various ideas on how to get rid of Weasley. None of which he could put into play, as there were eyes on him for just such events. Vlad could probably easily and painfully hex the little worm from where he sat, silent and wandless, but that was as good as doing it in the open to Professor McGonogall - nobody else had such extensive capability with their magic.

At least, nobody who wanted to hex Weasley to Merlin and back.

When they made it back to the tower that evening, and Vlad was back from tutoring, he had a new book in hand. Perching on the end of Vlad's bed, Harry peered closely at the cover while he could ask - the others weren't up yet.

" _Occluding the mind?_ What's that when it's at home?"

"Occlumency" Vlad put on his 'pompous' voice, his usual way of jokingly impersonating his prim and proper tutor "is the magic of protecting ones mind. Vampirically speaking, this is a similar branch of powers to protecting ourselves from hypnosis and telepathic intrusions. With your powers yet to come and your status as yet unknown, it is imperative you begin to learn such protections sooner rather than later."

Unable to stop himself chuckling, Harry tickled Phantoms soft underbelly and received several digs of claws that probably ought to have done more damage than they did. He decided not to think about it, in case he began to panic that his hardening skin was preceding him growing scales.

"How does it work?"

"Ideally, I would be taught by an actual Occlumens, but he's you know, away. So I read this and practice emptying my mind at night, then I learn to repel intrusions, and then to have a constant barrier of protection. It sounds very dull, but also pretty useful I guess. I don't want the VHC figuring out who I am anytime soon. I gotta shower, I smell like old books."

"You could go seduce Hermione?"

"Mmm. Rabid wolf on my hands. **Pass**."

Harry waved him off to the bathroom, then scooped up Phantom to transport her to his bed. The notion he and Vlad were more than friends _definitely_ wouldn't die if he was found waiting on the other boys bed. Lily popped her head out of her tank, flicking her tongue out and grumbling about how Harry hadn't brought her extra breakfast for a few days now.

"I'm terribly sorry your highness. Anything else?"

"A heat lamp like king snake along the ceiling. The innards of my enemies in a serving bowl."

"Your enemies? How do **you** make enemies? I'm the only person you even talk to."

"Furry one. Hissssss."

Phantom mewled in complaint, then padded up to Harry's face and licked it before sitting on his chest. Practically daring Lily to come over, but Harry could see by their attitude it was all done in jest and the two just liked to antagonize each other.

"I don't even need to ask to know she's being a little menace. Come on you, stop annoying Lily."

Vlad's hair had grown a little, curling beneath his ears and brushing over the back of his pyjama shirts collar. It suited him better, Harry decided quietly to himself before shaking off the random thought. Phantom nuzzled into the crook of his neck affectionately, and Vlad smiled down at her fondly.

The next time they were in the library, Harry spotted Viktor Krum and his entourage of fangirls again. As they got up to leave, Vlad looked his way for a brief second and out of the corner of his eye, Harry could have sworn something like a smile was aimed at his friend. Apparently Vlad had an admirer. Harry didn't know why that prospect confused him - Vlad was a perfectly likeable vampire.

The anticipation began to build, reaching fever pitch by Thursday dinner and that ministry official Vlad looked at funny was back, loitering in the shadows as food melted away from plates and every eye turned to the goblet of fire. Unsure what they were expecting - would it talk, like the sorting hat? - several students jumped in surprise when the usual calm flames began to roil and flicker angrily.

Eventually, the flames shot straight up into the air, a slightly smouldering piece of parchment falling down as the fires calmed again. Dumbledore caught it deftly, turning it in his hands before his carrying, clear voice filled the hall.

"The Hogwarts champion is... Cedric Diggory!"

The hall erupted, positively deafening at the badgers table as Cedric stood, walked up to the front and was directed to a side room. Almost as though the firey selector knew the time frame, it started to hiss and spark again before launching up, and Harry strongly suspected that this was the Beauxbatons champion - Durmstrang didn't seem the type for delicate blue paper.

"The Beauxbatons champion is... Fleur Delacour!"

The undoubtedly-most-attractive girl from that school stood, gave a sort of curtsey that had probably been ingrained in etiquette lessons to the applause of her schoolmates, then followed the same route Cedric had. By now, they only had one left to choose.

"The Durmstrang champion is..." Harry wondered if the headmaster practiced dramatic pauses "Viktor Krum!"

The deep grunting cheers of a group of boys in their late teens was drowned out by an almost-violent chanting of "Krum! Krum!" from Igor Karkaroff. He saw Vlad staring at the spot being vacated, his shoulders clearly relaxing when the students around him merely slid closer to cover the space created.

"And now, we have our three champions! The Triwizard Tournament can now-"

The whole hall fell silent aside from a few shocked gasps as the fire started up again, every eye fixed as it shot up and spat out... a _fourth name?_

"Vladimir Dracula."

Anarchy broke out all around, but if Harry was sure of one thing from the expression on his friends face, it was that he was just as surprised as Harry was.

-YDHP-

 **I envision irritation... You'll just have to trust I know what I'm doing.**

 **This ended up loooong, and I even finished writing this before I _started_ this weeks Rules To Bend chapter... That's never happened before. **


	37. Shaky Start

**YokaiAngel - thank you! Neither have I, it's one of the reasons I was looking forward to this year. Something new!**

 **Kitsune Jewel - Like I said, trust your author! Also, Voldesnot is beautiful and I may have to use it.**

 **Jon - I am confirming or denying nothing (other than Vlad being the fourth, because that's already confirmed). It might be Ron, or it could be completely unrelated and you will have to wait and find out. Also, is that the best you can do? I'm expecting corruption and all you give me is a butt tattoo? (which is not something I get to often say)**

 **I'm also going to apologise in advance for the fact I'm probably (definitely) not going to be brilliant with Krum or Fleur and their native speech patterns. I'm _not_ going to apologise to your personal preference for how this scene went book vs film - I support Gambon! And credit to Alex for her 'poetry' that I couldn't resist putting in.**

-YDHP-

"Vladimir Dracula!"

It felt a bit like the entire hall turned to look at Vlad, and the whispers began almost instantly. The only expression Vlad cared about was Harry's, and at least his mate did not look angry. All the same... _how_ had his name come out of the goblet?

"He's a cheat!"

"Not even seventeen!"

"Bloody Gryffindors."

Rather than let it continue to fuel tension, it was clear he was expected to go up to Dumbledore and be taken aside to explain himself. Legs feeling like lead, he stood and tried to walk up to the headmaster carefully. He was pointed to the side door with several intense, confused and an array of other emotions-based expressions.

Being at least three years younger than them, it was no wonder these three 'champions' were utterly perplexed by Vlad's appearance. He could relate.

"Vhat is it?"

"Do zey want us back?"

Up this close, it was blatantly, painfully obvious the blonde French girl wasn't human, and she could clearly see the same - creature blood recognising creature blood, though he was sure they had heavily suspected each other were anyway. Vlad hadn't figured out what to say when a veritable storm of adults appeared behind him.

Madame Maxime had to push a chandelier out of her heads way - one that was a clear two feet above Vlad's head. Igor Karkaroff immediately put himself between Vlad and his own student, and Dumbledore was quickly up in Vlad's face.

"Did you put your name in the Goblet Vlad?"

"No!"

The headmaster was close enough that Vlad could tell what he had eaten for dessert - his breath smelled like lemon and sugar, tart and sweet and mildly overpowering up close.

"Did you ask one of the older students to do it for you?"

"Of course not!"

He got the distinct sense that Dumbledore didn't _believe_ him, but he wasn't alone.

"Of course he is lying!"

Madame Maxime either knew he was a vampire as much as he knew she was part giant, or she thought he was about to kill Fleur Delacour anyway. Bats only knew why, but she was probably the scariest death glare from a female Vlad had ever had - minus Ingrid, Hermione and his mother. In that order.

"Why would I? I don't need money, I don't want fame and glory, and I have _plenty_ of threats on my life being Harry Potter's best friend. What _possible_ reason do I have to enter this mad competition?"

Karkaroff scoffed, giving him a disdainful once over.

"Showing off, being a rulebreaker?"

"That would be my sister. And you're missing a rather valid point."

That made several of the people in the room stall - including Bartemius Crouch, who still made Vlad uncomfortable for no discernable reason, Professor McGonogall as well as the three champions and their schools heads respectively.

"Which is?"

"Clue is in the name. _Tri_ wizard tournament. In case you haven't noticed, there are already three champions. Even if I had slipped past age lines and enchantments, which I **didn't** , I'm still a Hogwarts student."

Vlad wasn't certain there was any other time he had rendered a whole room of adults silent.

"It matters not. The Goblet Of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract. Regardless of how it was done, young Vladimir is a Triwizard Champion."

"That means Hogwarts has two champions! An unfair advantage!"

"I insist the impudent vampire cheated!"

Now he thought about it, Vlad supposed everyone had either more than an inkling or concrete knowledge about his vampiric status.

Except Cedric Diggory.

"Wait. Wait. _Vampire?_ "

"We aren't supposed to publicise it, but have you **met** Ingrid?"

Cedric faltered, considered his words for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Fair point. Anyway. How does this work?"

He indicated himself and Vlad - both Hogwarts champions. Nobody answered immediately, but both headmaster and headmistress of the rival schools were soon anxious to demand equality.

"We shall let ze goblet select a second champion each!"

"Impossible. The Goblet has already gone out. It won't reignite now until the next tournament, which is no time soon."

"Then disqualify the cheater!"

"How can I cheat by doing nothing?"

Vlad was growing irritated with the way everyone was talking _about_ and _around_ him but nobody was actually talking **to** him.

"There is nothing to be done. The tournament has four champions."

"Besides, if you cannot prove the vampire cheated you shouldn't be tossing accusations around _Karkaroff._ "

At least _someone_ was in his corner. Sort of. Professor Tonks slid into the room - undoubtedly picked to check on everyone because Bertrand knew Vlad would stake him for leaving Harry and Ingrid unsupervised with all the heads in here, and that little weasel around. And, he remembered, Karkaroff was a convicted death eater, Tonks an auror. The Bulgarian man glared, but silenced.

All the same - why would _any_ fourteen year old enter this against three seventeen year olds? Granted he was powerful and more academic than a fair few of his peers, but there were still disadvantages. And _how?_

"I reckon" Tonks slung an arm around Vlad's shoulders, grinning and her hair turning bright purple "some brainiac must have hexed that goblet to Hades and back, and entered Vladdo here under a fourth school. If he was the only option, who else would it pick?"

Cringing under the nickname, he wasn't about to look a gift bat in the mouth as she both defended him and had valid ideas, but Vlad was mildly uncomfortable at the least with Tonks and her exuberant friendliness. At least she wasn't bothered by his vampirism like Remus Lupin had been.

Surprisingly, the other 'champions' didn't seem that fazed. Viktor Krum was, as ever, giving Vlad a rather intense, searching look. Whenever he caught his eye, the expression was the same. He put it down to curiosity about magical vampires, or perhaps curiosity about Harry. Actually, he considered that a saving grace of sorts - whoever did this wasn't his friend, this could well be a lethal series of events. But at least it wasn't _Harry_ in his place.

The other heads, clearly hot and irate they hadn't gotten their way, dragged their students off in short order, leaving Vlad and Cedric with what felt like half the staff of Hogwarts. Apparently his own headmaster couldn't resist asking again, like Vlad didn't already give them reasons this was definitely not his idea.

"You're certain you are not responsible for this?"

"Only by apparently warranting being killed off. Because I wouldn't voluntarily put myself in harms way for - no offence Cedric - fame and money. Surely I've demonstrated _that_ by now."

If facing down Lord Voldemort, a werewolf pack, a basilisk and a possessed teacher - almost solely for Harry's sake alone - wasn't proof enough for the headmaster, Vlad didn't know what would be. Tonks, who was still using him like a conveniently placed vampire leaning post, added a cheeky wink to her boss, who nodded severely before sweeping back out.

"Give it five, let the hall clear a bit. Don't worry Minerva, I'll see he makes it to his tower safe."

Barty Crouch had somehow melted away in the hubbub and general chaos, and after McGonogall left and Cedric stood around, shrugged and then left himself, it left Vlad with his eccentric and probably insane Defence teacher.

"Wotcher. I'm in the school to keep an eye out for just such trouble. Somehow I expected it would be Potter, but I suppose you're basically the next best thing. You didn't do this?"

"No."

"Ok. I believe you. Stay away from Karkaroff, he's-"

"A death eater. I know. I'm more concerned with keeping that little rat away from my sister."

Something about Tonks' expression said she knew - perhaps the ministry knew Ron had been expelled for sexually assaulting a petrified Ingrid - why Vlad wanted to use him to test poisons on, but she let the topic slide.

"Right. So, now you go and stick to you didn't do it, though you know a lot of folk won't believe it. Day after tomorrow, there will be that Ollivander wand bloke coming to eyeball your wand and check it's up to scratch, even if you hardly need the damn thing" he didn't bother asking how she knew, Tonks was a genius, in a mad scientist sort of way "and there will also be this psychotic reporter woman. Am I right in thinking you have no trouble appearing in photos yet?"

"Not until I'm sixteen. Do I _have_ to get my picture taken?"

"M'fraid so. The torture starts early. Come on, let's get you to the tower. Don't know a shortcut by any chance?"

Tonks was actually surprisingly easy company, and amusing when she pretended they were on a covert mission to sneak behind a portrait of a unicorn to skip the worst of the busy corridors. She dropped him off at the Fat Lady, told him to stay out of trouble and shoved him into the common room.

Gryffindor were, by definition, awful gossips and loved any excuse to make a ruckus. So the uproar that greeted Vlad didn't surprise him, but there was no way he could even begin to try and answer the hordes of questions thrown at him. All he could do was repeat himself.

"I didn't put my name in that cup."

By the time he escaped up to the dorm, Vlad felt a touch frazzled. His locked journal was humming - he had a message from Ingrid waiting. It could wait a minute longer. Most of the Gryffindors hadn't followed him, but Fred and George Weasley had this annoying habit of not letting things go.

"Come on Vlad"

"You can tell us."

"How did you do it?"

"Because we just got beards!"

Shrugging them off with a grimace, he hunted for his pyjamas with hopes of escaping to the bathroom.

"I didn't do it. I wish they had said it was somehow invalidated, but now I don't have a choice."

Managing to shake them with the threat of him stripping whether they were there or not, the twins left and Vlad was able to shower in peace. His dorm mates, however, weren't any happier to let the matter drop. Rather than immediately answer the looks, Vlad grabbed his two charmed journals - Hermione was undoubtedly desperate to know the ins and outs too.

 _"Spill the blood little brother."_

 _"I didn't do it. I have a feeling this is absolutely meant to kill me off."_

 _"Hmm. Any suspects?"_

 _"Tonks seemed to be watching Karkaroff closely, but that could be standard for an auror and a convicted Voldie-follower."_

Ingrid took a while to formulate a response, so Vlad jotted out a more simplistic 'tell you tomorrow' to Hermione, because they would have classes and breaks together, then studying and meals. Far more opportunities than he would have to tell Ingrid, who would likely be surrounded by her usual fan club, plus the Durmstrang boys who had taken to her, and plenty of Slytherins would want to know how Vlad had 'cheated' the rules - both age, and being a secondary Hogwarts champion.

 _"Makes sense. You managed to help get Harry out of that graveyard, and then had the nerve to stop a pack of rabid dogs eating students. He must be eager to rip your face off some time soon."_

 _"Thanks Ingrid. Comforting. I'm meant to have tutoring tomorrow, come along? I have a feeling Bertrand has been thinking non stop about this, so it won't be my usual studying I expect."_

 _"Suits me. Go away."_

Ingrid often signed off like that, as though ending a conversation was always her idea and that she had grown bored of him already. Flipping the book closed, he felt multiple sets of eyes on him.

"I didn't do this. Would it help if I had it written on a t-shirt?"

"Hey Vlad. We don't judge, but you gotta know people will want to ask."

"What Neville said."

Dean and Neville watched him closely, Seamus had even forgotten to glare quite so intently in his intense curiosity. Both Draco and Harry believed him, at least, they didn't look like they thought he was lying.

" _I_ want to ask, I would love to know who wants me dead without getting their hands dirty. Because let's face it, this is meant to be so dangerous they originally cancelled it for the 'mounting death toll'. And I'm three years behind the other contestants, so I'm at **two** disadvantages here."

"Two?"

"Three years of spell work and a second magical growth spurt."

He wasn't even the only creature competing, because Fleur Delacour was part _something_. Her ethereal appearance and unicorn-glow-gold hair made him lean to something like a siren, or maybe a veela, but with it clearly diluted with human he wasn't sure.

"So, what happens now with it?"

"I have no idea. I have to go along to this thing with the other three to check our wands are working on Saturday, guess I'll find out from there."

It became awkwardly silent, but as everyone got ready for bed Vlad found an upside - as soon as everyone else fell asleep while he did his Occlumency practice, Harry slipped between his drawn bedcurtains.

"So, what's the story?"

Vlad relayed the chain of events, or what he remembered in his mildly overwhelmed and confused state. Harry laughed when Vlad groused about having to get his picture taken, and every negative feeling melted away for a moment when his mates whole face lit up. It reminded Vlad - at least it was him, not Harry.

Hermione was no more patient, and after a thorough scolding - he was now exempt from end of year exams as a Triwizard Champion and she wasn't impressed - she demanded all the details in between classwork.

By the time they were in the library for a free period, Vlad was already mentally drained. His teachers were either avoiding the matter entirely or regarding Vlad with suspicion, students kept stopping him in the corridors to ask how he had done it and Vlad highly doubted Karkaroff was done trying to kick up a storm about it.

"So, what you're saying is even though you didn't do it, you're going to have to compete in a tournament deemed unsuitable for anyone not a legal wizarding adult?"

"Pretty much. It could be worse I guess."

"How, exactly?"

Vlad cast a suspicious look around them, because they weren't allowed to use silence spells in the library, before he answered in a low whisper.

"If it wasn't me someone was using this tournament to get rid of, it could have been Harry."

The wizard in question was currently hidden in his trunk with Samael, and Vlad was working on balancing his protective nature for his mate against letting Harry spend time with his titanic pet. Hermione didn't know about that specifically, but Vlad wouldn't be _too_ surprised if her amazing mind had somehow worked it out, just like everything else.

That evenings dinner brought a new prank, and Vlad wasn't sure who to suspect - it was based off a Muggle nursery rhyme with obvious contenders, but it was still bizarre. As everyone sat down and food was supposed to appear, each of them found an envelope tucked under their plate. The parchment glowed with duplication charms, and the handwriting was obviously charmed but there were multiple magical signatures, so it wasn't easy to pinpoint.

As the students reticently opened them, each contained a smaller piece of parchment, complete with a rhyme Vlad half expected it to sing.

 _'Mouldy Voldy heaved a sigh_

 _Kissed dementors and made them cry_

 _When baby Harry came out to play_

 _Mouldy Voldy ran away'_

The really impressive part of the prank, or the magic, was that after a minute, every piece of parchment jumped from their hands and burned away in mid air, much like some kind of silent howler. It was quiet, but eventually the laughter began in small pockets, eventually becoming a rather hearty sound of amusement in around three quarters of the Hall. Even a few of the Slytherin students were chuckling, and several of the visiting students bemused but amused.

Even the teachers hadn't escaped it, and they were eyeing the Gryffindor table most intently. Most of the students wouldn't know the Muggle origins, but it left Vlad with two likely suspects - George Weasley or George Giles, as the rhymes original title character was 'Georgie Porgie'. The magic seemed beyond a second year, but she had proved talent when it came to pranks, and Vlad couldn't tell if the twins were genuine in their expressions of surprise.

It was a semi-effective distraction from Vlad's notoriety for 'entering' the tournament, and whether that had been the intention or not, he was happy about it. Harry didn't look upset by it either, which was important - he clarified it later that evening all the same.

Bertrand had very little to actually say on the matter, mostly listening to Vlad elaborate on the details and Ingrid simultaneously mock him for being concerned he would die, and warn him not to get himself killed. Bertrand did suggest Ingrid could be his Legilimency test, when he needed to see how Occlumency was going, but that would be at a later date. Vlad supposed there were worse people he could let potentially into his head.

Despite what Harry had said earlier that evening, he still had a nightmare that night and Vlad felt guilty for being happy he hadn't lost the habit of seeking comfort from him - Harry could just as easily vanish into his trunk to Samael now.

"It wasn't about him, don't think that."

Vlad could see from the tremors in Harry's muscles that his dream had included Cruciatus-based torture, giving him the pain reliever before Harry sleepily mumbled about his nightmare. As the changes in his body continued, the subjects of his dreams grew in variety. The latest addition was memories of Salazar Slytherin, after he had left Hogwarts to ensure his violent hatred for Muggle-born-magic was known.

He had utilised the 'gap' in the wards to visit with Samael, ensuring he expended vitriol while ensuring his control was solid. Vlad found the idea of watching Samael grow from something hatched out of a chicken egg to the mammoth beast he had become riveting, but that nights dream had focused more on Salazar joining in muggle-baiting, torturing people because they were _just people._ As a vampire, he probably wasn't supposed to care so much, but it sounded horrendous.

Harry fell asleep soon after, his steady breathing a sure sign. Vlad always had to stay awake until Harry was out, to ensure he either managed to pad the area around his groin or that he was in a position where Harry wouldn't realise just how much Vlad _enjoyed_ them being that close. He could mostly control it when he was awake, but his body got a mind of it's own sleeping next to his mate.

There was no escape from the beginning of the debacle that would be his competing in the tournament. Rita Skeeter was a bizarre woman, with nails almost as lethal looking as Ingrid's, heavy jewelled glasses and hair clearly held up by magic in it's heavy rolling curls. She reeked of cheap perfume, and got into his personal space way too often for Vlad's liking. The other strange thing was when she was really close, she smelled like bug spray.

The four Triwizard champions stood for a group photo, listening to Skeeter chatter on about how exciting it all was. For whatever reason, he waa grateful enough not to care, she was kicked out temporarily for the wand-check. He didn't want the whole wizarding world finding out he was a magical vampire with a dual core wand.

"Ah, Mr Diggory. Twelve and one quarter inches. Ash, unicorn hair. Yes?"

Cedric nodded, having not even handed over his wand yet but Vlad vaguely recalled Ollivander saying he could remember every wand he had ever sold. Cedric Diggory had a clean bill of wand health, and Fleur went next. Ollivander had a strange scale for weighing the wand, which spat out a ream of information.

"Nine and one quarter inches. Rosewood, core of... veela hair?"

"Yes. My grandmothers. While it has fallen out of practice in many places, we still utilise chosen cores rather than your method in France."

Mumbling to himself, Ollivander smiled at the part-veela absently before handing back her wand. Vlad had no idea how this was ordered, but as he took Krum's wand it became clear Vlad was going last.

"Ten and one quarter inches. Hornbeam, core of dragon heartstring. Excellent for transfiguration, lovely craftmanship. Gregorovitch?"

"Indeed. His reputation is second only to yours I believe."

"Modesty prevents me from speaking such words. Mr Dracula?"

Vlad flipped his wand, which was distinctly noticeable in its unusual shape, holding it out handle first to Ollivander, who dropped it onto the scales and watching the little parchment slot release information.

"Eleven inches. Yggdrasil wood. Dual core..."

He said it loud enough for the others to hear, which drew even more attention to the accursed thing he barely ever needed.

"Excuse me, did you say _Yggdrasil?_ "

"Dual core? Is that even possible?"

Ollivander didn't seem at all fazed, running a reverent finger down the chaotic, knotted wood before he handed it back.

"The last of the only harvest. I didn't expect the dual core to take, but I had an inkling and decided I had little to lose. If it was not meant to be, it wouldn't be. With the dual unicorn and phoenix core, that wand is a beautiful mix of life and purity."

Cedric laughed shortly, eyeing Vlad's wand and then Vlad himself.

"In the hands of a vampire. That's... that's almost poetic in it's lunacy. And of course, the immortality thing. Does that mean you won't be able to die in the tournament?"

Vlad shook his head, slipping his wand back into the charmed pocket of his jumper. He tried to be honest if vague, because they may well know if he lied about something specific - he knew Cedric was in NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts with Ingrid.

"Certain things I'm more... resistant to, but if a manticore rips off my head I'm as dead as any human."

Fleur was relatively quiet, but Viktor Krum was apparently deeply intrigued by the wand.

"How did you obtain the Yggdrasil wood?"

"Ah, yes. A few of the more... freelance wand makers like to travel, searching for new wand materials and rare cores. I believe they were tracking a Norwegian ice dragon through the Arctic, hoping to find their colony for some shed scales, or perhaps a naturally deceased one. The dragon vanished, but they decided to finish the days walk, rest then apparate back to their campsite. There it stood. Hidden to muggles and non-magical creatures, and never found again though many have tried. Thirty years ago, one of the explorers owed me a favour and paid me in his last stock of Yggdrasil, having frown frustrated with it's stubborn nature. The product now resting in the young Draculas hands."

Ollivander realised he had gone on a wistful stroll down memory lane, clapping his hands together with a slightly manic grin.

"My work here is done. I shall take my leave, and I wish you all luck in the upcoming tournament with your fully functioning wands."

Somehow, and Vlad was immensely grateful to all three of them, the others didn't bring up his weird wand or pending vampirism in front of the reporter and her less-than-functional photographer. Their respective headmasters and headmistress swarmed in for the next wave of photos, leaving Vlad itching to get away from it all.

He did note with a vague amusement it was familiar to having portraits done with Ingrid - her appearance drained the attention from everyone, and in these photos most of them would look quite plain next to the part-veela. Cedric was kidnapped by the evil reporter lady first, leaving Vlad sat awkwardly with Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour around a tea set. Nervously uncomfortable while the 'grown ups' chatted several feet away, Vlad chewed on a dainty cucumber sandwich for something to do.

"Vell, you are a very intriguing vampire."

"I don't try to be. It may surprise you all to know I just want to study and pass my exams. And ensure Voldemort" he did note their reaction, not severe but obviously averse to his casual usage of the name "doesn't kill my best friend. Mostly, I just want a quiet unlife."

Fleur went next, and Cedric waved as he left with a clear expression of relief when freed from the shimmery, painful on the eye Rita Skeeter. Krum eyed the adults, then leaned in a little, furtive as he winked.

"Ven I go, you make a break for it. You're underage, so cannot be forced into interview. I'm used to such nonsense, playing for my countries Quidditch team."

Whether she had offended or refused to answer, Fleur quickly reappeared and Krum gave him an encouraging head bob, so Vlad waited for Fleur to leave with Madame Maxime, then Karkaroff and Dumbledore to start chatting again. Taking a breath, Vlad stood quietly and slipped from the room. Ingrid had said the Bulgarian seeker came across quite reserved, quiet, but that he also had something of a sense of humour too. He had to agree, having just been sort of smuggled out of the first part of the Triwizard Tournament 'nonsense'.

"How was your interview?"

"Didn't go. They still got my picture but I ditched before she could harass me."

He didn't mention Krum helping to Harry - not because he didn't want to acknowledge it, but because he didn't want to get the seeker in trouble for it.

"Did you find out when the first 'task' is?"

Vlad nodded, feeling the reality of it start to weigh on him.

"November 24th. Just shy of three weeks."

"What is it?"

"No idea. That's sort of the point, this whole thing is madness. Bats only knows what they are about to put me and the others through."

"At least you've been doing training for years, and you are pretty uniquely powerful for a fourteen year old. Plus, you do have a pretty good track record for going into situations blind and coming out alright. You got this. Cheater."

It had become a good-natured ribbing from Harry to call him that, because he genuinely believed Vlad hadn't entered himself into this suicide mission. So long as Harry believed him, Vlad was happy. Ingrid believing him and being (it was hidden but definitely there) annoyed and concerned someone was trying to off him - that was _her_ job apparently - was a definite bonus, because Vlad genuinely cared about his sister, but he couldn't help that his mates opinion mattered most.

A week passed by almost without incident - there _might_ have been a misfired charm by Ingrid that turned Ronald Weasley into a rat, and Vlad _might_ have 'accidentally' let Phantom chase him - and Vlad felt the magnitude of a totally unknown situation growing closer and closer. He had a sort of cordial 'say hi in the hallways' raporte with Fleur, Cedric and Viktor Krum by now, but that was about it for the moment. Krum still sat opposite Ingrid most days, and for now Weasley had learnt he wasn't going to weasel in.

Bertrand didn't say anything, merely tossed a folded note onto Vlad's plate as he passed to obtain his lunch. Harry, with a mouthful of sausage-and-egg sandwich, caught Vlad unfolding it surreptitiously beneath the table, but obviously knew better than to draw attention to it.

 _Be in the Entrance Hall at 11:30pm. Invisibility advised._

Harry wanted to come along, and Vlad wanted to argue but if the situation were reversed he would have gone whether Harry agreed or not. Shushing him a little so he wouldn't wake their dorm-mates, Vlad acquiesced.

"You _have_ to stay under the cloak, and do not go wandering off."

"I will. Promise. Let's go!"

The common room was nearly empty, a couple of seventh years lazing in front of the fire half-asleep the biggest signs of life in there. Harry was under the cloak, Vlad under his usual invisibility charm - he knew it was draining, but he had spent a lot of time practicing it to hold it longer and longer. They crept down to the entrance hall slowly, surprised by Bertrand loitering at the front door. His tutor clearly knew that Harry had come along too, and Vlad saw him roll his eyes before pointedly opening the castle doors.

"I cannot stress how imperative it is you exercise extreme caution, however, I'm reliably informed cheating is an integral part of this tournament. As such, here we are."

The cryptic sentences made absolutely no sense, but Harry had his hand wrapped around Vlad's wrist and that was making his skin tingle pleasantly, so Vlad let it slide until he recognised someone unexpected.

"Bertrand."

"Charles. Discretion provided, I will stretch my wings until your return. Best we not add more creatures to the teeming woodland."

Charlie Weasley rolled his eyes, corrected Bertrand to "Charlie" and his eyes scanned the thin air, clearly searching for signs of Vlad.

"Trust me, he is here. Lead the way, only speak if necessary."

Charlie gave him a bemused look, then nodded and turned around. Bertrand shifted into his bat form, blending in seamlessly with the night sky as Vlad felt Harry grip a bit tighter, then they followed Charlie into the Forest.

He had a growing suspicion gnawing at his chest, hoping against hope it would turn out he was wrong. The painfully loud, wrenching screech put paid to that hope, and Vlad realised what he was about to be shown. He caught sight of (he wasn't sure if it was sweet or sickly) Hagrid and Madame Maxime nearby, and a moving bush gave off a distinct sense of Dark Mark, which likely meant Karkaroff was seeing this too.

And by 'this', Vlad meant the _four huge **dragons** _ currently residing in cages deep within the Forbidden Forest. Harry used the grip on his wrist to pull him close enough to whisper, which meant Vlad hoped Harry assumed his shivering was either the November chill or the big dragons.

"Dragons? That's the first task? They must be joking!"

"I would love to pretend that's the case. However, four dragons, four champions. The task isn't far off. Shh, Karkaroff is close by."

Harry fell silent, but kept a tight grip on Vlad's wrist. It could only be better if Harry just dropped his hand a little more and they were holding hands, but this was a good close second and he wasn't complaining.

Charlie had to go help restrain the most vicious looking one - the one Hagrid was practically cooing over. He caught swearing in multiple languages, and what sounded like "bloody Horntail!" more than once. Harry could always go strike up conversation, but that may be a little suspect as his parselmouth wasn't exactly a public known tidbit.

"I realise we aren't alone, but I'll be dropping in to Hogwarts a couple of times so you can ask about them more then if you like. Let's go before they notice me talking to a tree."

Between them, Charlie and Bertrand got Vlad and Harry back to Hogwarts undetected and unscathed. Unshaken was a different matter - how the _hell_ was Vlad supposed to go up against a **dragon**?

-YDHP-

 **I didn't start this one planning an all-Vlad chapter, but that sort of became what happened. While there will obviously be some Vlad-centric stuff, like the tasks, there is much to come for dear mister Harry too!**


	38. Shedding Preconceptions

**YokaiAngel + VampireHarry the 2 - thank you! Even the little reviews make me so happy!**

 **Jon - I know! I thought that in GoF that they could have used veritaserum or something and easily discovered Harry's honesty, but where's the fun in that?**

 **McGonogall and Dumbledore? Yawn. Even that wouldn't keep that abnormally large nose out of other people's business.**

 **FangirlFriend2 - I'm glad you see no issue, but it became obvious early on that my preference for Vlad-centric didn't fly with most readers, and while I do enjoy writing Harry POV it's rather easy to slip to Vlad-heavy, 90% of everything I've ever written outside of Chosen Two has been Vlad POV**

 **Guest - Thank you! I'm so unbelievably thrilled to hear someone else excited for Vlad in the tournament. I'll pass on your cheering to Vlad!**

-YDHP-

His first priority, Vlad realised, should be fair play. Fleur would know, Viktor would know. He knew. Getting close to the favourite champion when he was the rule breaking egotist to most wasn't easy, but Vlad _did_ have a trick up his sleeve.

"Why am I doing this?"

"You said he's a good guy. You know I don't like taking advantage of unfair... advantages. Just... get him to come here."

Ingrid rolled her eyes, waited for Vlad to be hidden behind the corner they were talking at and crossed over to where Cedric Diggory was sat talking with his friends. Peering around, Vlad watched the predictable eagerness from the boys as Ingrid politely requested Cedric follow her.

"Don't do it Ced, what if she's offing you so her brother wins?"

"As if. I'd love nothing better than the chance to see my baby brother repeatedly trampled. Come along Diggory."

On occasion, his sister's ego and vampiric allure did have it's uses. Cedric pushed his books back in his bag, hopped up and followed Ingrid most agreeably. Vlad rolled himself back around the corner, took a few steps back and waited.

"Ok, what's this about?"

Cedric looked between the Dracula siblings, cottoning on this was a set up. Vlad decided to get his point out quickly, rather than have Cedric worry this was some attempt at sabotage.

"Dragons. That's the first task. The others already know, I thought you should too."

"Are you joking? How do you..."

"Friendly dragon handler. I just wanted it to be an even playing field. I should go before your friends spot me."

Vlad moved to leave, but Cedric stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you."

Nodding, Vlad fell into step with Ingrid as Cedric returned to his friends. Most students were over by the Quidditch stadium, because it was currently being magically remodelled. There were a dozen _enormous_ signs all over the place, assuring everyone concerned that the whole thing would be returned to normal after the tournament.

"So, word is that Bulgarian has a thing for you."

"I doubt it, we've not even really spoken other than when all the 'champions'" Ingrid smirked as Vlad added air quotes applying that word to himself "have to be together. Which has been exactly once so far since selection day."

"He's definitely seeking for the home team. Sits opposite me three times a day, anytime you're mentioned he's suddenly fascinated. When his classmates are flirting with the French, he's talking bloody Arithmancy with Theo."

" _Theo?_ "

"Shut up. You call him that, Blaise calls him that. And unless you or the not Slytherin twin is at the table, they are my usual barricade between dinner and idiots."

Shaking his head, Vlad let the subject drop - he _did_ call Theo by the shortened version of his name, and Vlad knew from a quietly shared secret that Theo had no more interest in girls than Vlad did. Nobody else knew, but apparently Theo could tell Vlad and he shared leanings. It was one of the reasons he was glad Theo got on well with Ingrid. And Blaise was still firmly in his 'no girls before OWLs' personal rule, which made them the perfect buffers for Ingrid to eat in peace.

Then there was Viktor, who helped Vlad bust out of an interview with bug-spray hair lady. Sat opposite Ingrid to keep Ron Weasley away, and, like the other 'champions', seemed to believe Vlad hadn't intentionally throw himself into this - they had all voluntarily gone in, were excited by the prospect of being chosen. Vlad was very much not.

"If that's all? I'm going to go wash the stink of _helping_ off myself. You have an overgrown lizard to deal with."

Ingrid gave him an affectionate(ish) shoulder shove before taking off, leaving Vlad to amuse himself for an hour while Harry was off lamenting the transformation of the Quidditch pitch with Draco - he wholly expected Hermione to be nearby, rolling her eyes at them.

"You didn't have to do that."

Vlad jumped a little, turning to find a surprisingly alone Viktor Krum.

"Of course I did. Leaving him in the dark when everyone else knows would be unfair."

"Still. Your race isn't known for it's fairness."

The comment irritated Vlad. Just because Krum knew _what_ he was, it didn't mean he knew a damn thing about him.

"And your school is known for the Dark Arts. Would it be fair of me to assume that means you're a bad guy?"

"My apologies. I did not mean to offend. I find the rarity of your kind fascinating, you even more so."

"You don't even know me."

"I vould like to."

Vlad was _not_ telling Ingrid she was right. He was too busy wondering how one turned down an international Quidditch player without being obvious he was completely, madly in love with Harry Potter.

"I uh-"

"Relax Vladimir. I merely meant I vould like us to be friends."

"Oh. I guess that would be ok. So long as you stop calling me _Vladimir,_ that usually means I'm in trouble. And don't tell anyone about me or Ingrid."

"Agreeable."

Viktor Krum actually smiled, and though it was diluted by his harsh-set features, the joy was genuine. There was the novelty of someone other than Hermione asking him if he wanted to go to the library, and a quiet sort of companionship in it - even if someone watching him do his Ancient Runes homework was a little weird.

"My understanding was that your magical ability is not found across siblings."

"Yeah, we've been told that. No idea whether it's just a rarity within a rarity, or more common than expected but unnoticed. With our lifespan, siblings can be centuries apart to a different partner. Still, I kind of like it. Me and Ingrid never got on before. Magic became a good bond between us."

"I am glad to hear that. I enjoy your sisters company, though not as much as Andrew does. At Durmstrang ve grow used to acerbic wit like hers."

"Ingrid probably enjoys that you and your friends keep that little rat away from her. That's practically friendship right there."

"Mmm, Ronald. He isn't, shall ve say, a favourite of mine. Can I assume his expulsion from Hogvarts is related to your sister?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to go into detail."

"Of course. Our headmaster had no fondness for him either, until the beginning of this year."

Which was mere weeks after Riddle had been resurrected. Favouritism by a death eater... Vlad had a resurgence of his desire to go put Weasley down like a dog.

"Vlad?"

"Sorry, I get lost in my own head sometimes. Does he like Durmstrang?"

"You mean does he enjoy dark arts?"

"Well I didn't want to sound accusatory."

"The answer is yes. Perhaps a little... _too_ much but that's not uncommon."

"He was never that powerful here, suppose that could have changed by now."

Scratching out a mis-translated rune and correcting it, Vlad allowed a moment to imagine strapping Weasley to a thestral and feeding him to acromantula. When he came out of that little reverie, he found Viktor watching him rather closely.

"Dark magic is much more about intent than power. Can be fuelled by anger and hatred, not just magical ability."

Vlad didn't get much chance to answer, as they were interrupted mid-conversation.

"He was always a jealous, resentful little toad. Fraternising with the enemy Vladdo?"

"Fred. George. Eavesdropping?"

"Checking you weren't boring this seeker to death."

"We saw you at the world cup."

"Amazing!"

Vlad couldn't help grinning as the Bulgarian looked a tad overwhelmed by their dual-speech pattern, and came across quite humble when he thanked them. It became very clear _very_ fast that Vlad's original opinion on the Durmstrang student was probably wrong.

"Where's Harry?"

"Presumably with Hermione and Draco."

"We say _with..._ "

"They are trying to escape"

"While she was trying to get them up here."

It was only about half a minute later that two disgruntled teens were herded into the room, and Vlad half-expected to see Hermione holding her boyfriend and his pseudo-brother at wandpoint. They spotted the table Vlad was already at, Harry's eyes skipping over them quickly.

"I told you he would be here."

"How would you know that? He was with Ingrid when we left earlier."

"Don't argue with me. Work. Now."

Sufficiently cowed, Draco brightened when Hermione kissed his cheek before vanishing into the bookcases, coming back with half a dozen floating alongside her, revolving lazily above her wand tip.

"How much homework are you _doing_ Hermione?"

Hermione checked the librarian wasn't looking, then thwacked a book across Harry's shoulder. For a second, Vlad felt compelled to attack her for hurting his mate, but remembered they were surrounded by people. And Harry was laughing as he rubbed his shoulder. He was fine.

"I vill let you get back to work. I should go make sure my friends aren't harassing the poor Beauxbatons girls."

Caught short, Vlad didn't know whether he wanted to encourage Viktor to stay or not. The decision was made for him rather quickly.

"Beauxbatons you say?"

"Come along Fred, let us assist the Bulgarian!"

If they weren't leaving anyway, Vlad was sure Madam Pince would have chased the Weasley twins out, several students watching them frogmarch the Durmstrang champion out with them.

"Most of the school is out watching the remodelling, for the tournament **both** of you are in. And you two are in the library, him watching you study. What's that about?"

Draco grinned as he asked, Hermione only looked half-interested but Harry looked... Vlad didn't know, but it was something a bit more intense than mere curiosity. Now the twins and the celebrity had left, they were mostly alone again.

"He said he wants to be friends. Thinks 'my kind' are fascinating apparently. Then he asked if I wanted to go to the library. Mostly he just watched me study. Bit unnerving but he didn't once try to eat me."

Hermione snorted, proving she had been listening as she gave Vlad a mildly disapproving look. Sticking his tongue out, Vlad finished the last equation on his Runes essay and leant back in his seat.

"The whole point of this contest is international cooperation, to make friends. So you boys let Vlad make friends, or I'll let Ginny and her bat-bogey hex loose on you."

Mollified, Draco and Harry both dropped their eyes to their work, and Hermione seemed satisfied. Harry was sat near him, so Vlad opted to get an early start on his Arithmancy work too, just to stay near his mate.

Harry didn't say much, not until they were alone again on the way to dinner.

"So, is he the airhead you expected?"

"No. He's quite mellow actually. Almost shy when Fred and George were going on about the world cup."

Harry nodded, brow set harsher than usual but when Vlad asked if he was ok, Harry's face smoothed out completely, and he swore he was fine.

Even so, Vlad wasn't convinced.

* * *

No Quidditch was still grating - especially with an international player in the school. Harry had a somewhat vain notion of challenging him, seeing how his talent matched up to the Bulgarian. He wouldn't admit it, but the complete lack of flying still sucked - they weren't even allowed to fly over the remodelled area. Massive rocks, dips, the stands had been raised up a little more. Spacious and ruggard - perfect for a dragon or four.

"Think we can get away with using the training pitch? I need to fly!"

"Master your animagus form then. Then you'll have wings."

Vlad was no help at all in his lamentations.

"I'm trying."

"I know. This isn't meant to be easy. Achieving the animagus transformation can take years. Hermione hasn't gotten anywhere with it either. And she usually beats us both at everything."

Scowling for show, Harry let Vlad fall silent to eat his sandwich - they were sat outside by the lake, neither much bothered by the cold. Trying to think about something other than his weird spikes of irritation, and the itching on his skin, Harry looked over at the stands.

"So. What are you going to do about your dragon?"

"Not a clue. I don't know what sort of dragons they are, and dragons are notoriously difficult to use magic against."

"Have you asked Charlie?"

Vlad leant against the tree, sighing slightly as he tossed the last corner of sandwich into the lake.

"Not had chance. Every time I see him he's with teachers. Bit obvious since I shouldn't know anything about any dragons. Stop scratching."

He hadn't even noticed, dropping his hand from the irritated skin of his arm. It was driving him mad.

"Have you asked Samael about it?"

"Not yet. I'm scared he will tell me I'm about to start shedding a Harry skin."

Vlad started laughing, which was horrendously unfair.

"Sorry, I just had this image of you, Lily and Samael all taking baths for days at a time. I don't think that you _could_ physically shed. If you do can we use the skin to scare people?"

 _ **Right**_. Harry dived at him, tickling Vlad vengefully until the vampire was soaked in snow and clearly debating whether to use magic to defend himself from Harry. He stopped to give Vlad chance to breathe, and preferably apologise for his crass remarks. Vlad's cheeks were flushed with either laughter or cold, and for a second there was a weird intensity in the silence.

"If I say I'm sorry, will you get your elbow out of my left kidney?"

Realising he was on top of Vlad, out where anyone could see and totally misconstrue the position, Harry moved quickly, ignoring that it felt weirder to move than to not. He put it down to being used to physical contact when he had nightmares, because Vlad had never once stopped him seeking comfort in the middle of the night.

"Sorry. Wouldn't want your Bulgarian beau to see you rolling around with me in the snow."

Vlad raised an eyebrow, brushing snowflakes out of his hair and off his flushed cheeks, casting a drying charm on the back of his clothes where icy slush had soaked into the fabric.

"You mean Viktor? I've had all of two conversations with him, one about Ron Weasley and the other about how he wants to visit Romania some day."

Harry couldn't explain it. Ever since Hermione had harangued them into the library, and he had seen the way Viktor Krum looked at Vlad, he couldn't quite shake a sense that given half a chance, that seeker could make some change to their friendship. He _wasn't_ jealous.

"Right. Still, nobody is going to believe we are just friends. Anyway. Dragons. Not me shedding Harry skin."

It had been a _long_ time since the two of them had been awkward, and Harry didn't know what it was. They talked about dragons until Vlad had to go for another 'champion' thing. Harry _wasn't_ imagining how he was back to spending time with Viktor Krum, because he had no reasoning for the emotions it stirred. Maybe he should focus on jealousy that Vlad was spending a lot of time with Fleur Delacour too. That was **far** safer thoughts.

He couldn't help talking to Samael about it though, wandering about in the trunk in only shorts to allow him to scratch his itchy skin.

"I don't understand it. And this itching is terrible!"

"It will pass."

"When?"

"You are having a growth spurt. It is normal for a serpent to experience itching and shedding."

"I'm _not_ a serpent!"

Samael rolled his eyes, then brought his tail around to flick against Harry to stop him scratching.

"You are part me though wizard. Your growth will continue to be somewhat expedited, much like your vampire."

"He's not mine. Stop saying it like that."

"But he is."

"No. No he's not."

Exasperated, Samael flicked his tail again, stopping Harry scratching at his reddened chest - the tracks of his nails were very clear.

"Am I going to shed a Harry skin?"

"I shouldn't imagine so. You may find your skin renewal process happening at an accelerated rate for a few days. However, you are most of the way through this growth. I imagine your... human coverings must feel somewhat constricting."

The basilisk wasn't wrong - Harry was outgrowing some of his clothes. Some were more expensive, charmed to adjust for a few inches variation so that they would last the school year, but his older t-shirts stretched thin over his shoulders, felt way too tight around his arms. Feeling ridiculous, Harry tried to tense his muscles. His bicep and tricep were by no means _huge,_ but they had definition and felt firm beneath his other hand. Very strange to someone who had spent twelve years middling the underweight category.

"How do I make the itching stop?"

"Bathe. Surely that much is obvious silly wizard."

Lily interjected, wrapping her lower half around his hand to stop him scratching and stretching her emerald scales out along his confusingly broad forearm.

"Showers are easier, but thank you. Pest."

Both snakes laughed aloud, the joyfully amused hissing noises music to his ears for a moment.

"Why do you say the vampire isn't yours? You have never denied him before."

"It gets weirder every year, reminds me that it's only a little while until Vlad's transforming and graduating and off to his world. But everyone always pairs us together, and that's... we aren't _together._ Vlad... Vlad is entitled to be his own person, find new people."

"It's not my area of expertise, I admit, but are you experiencing envy toward someone?"

Bloody hell, even his pets were on this.

"No. I'm not _jealous,_ I just... this year has been crazy, and there's lots more to come. And Vlad has someone who's so clearly into him even I... what's wrong with me? Why does that matter? Vlad didn't care when I was dating Susan."

On some level, Harry knew Vlad **had** been bothered, but that was easily put down to the fact Susan didn't like him, and that Harry had spent alot of time with her.

"I cannot answer that. We may be bonded, but I am not omniscient within your mind wizard."

He left soon after, lest he continue a deep and uncharted soul search that could lead to all sorts of thoughts his brain wasn't ready to acknowledge. And Harry really wanted to take a bath, which blissfully reduced the mind-consuming itch. His nails were roughly worn from scratching his harder skin, but by the time he eventually accepted he had to leave the cooling water there was no sign of inflammation where he had been scratching constantly.

The itching lessened, not abating but enough that Harry could ignore it for bed, biting the head off his jelly slug viciously and ignoring the knowing look of Lily. Or trying to.

"Stop looking at me like that. Any ideas for how Vlad can deal with a dragon?"

"Aim for the eyes. Sing it a lullaby in Parseltongue. Look less like a tasty meal. And never, _ever_ go near a nesting mothers eggs."

Unsure how much of that was satire, and how much was valid advice, Harry put Lily into her tank and got comfortable in his bed. Lily didn't stay put for long, slithering back out to coil up at the end of his bed.

 _"Mother!"_

 _"Welcome home darling. I do miss you so dearly when you leave for school."_

 _"I know mother, and I miss you and father dearly. However, school is such fun!"_

 _Solace beamed at her daughter, the elegance of her etiquette education clear even through her joyful excitement. Amelia Peverell-Potter (she went by Peverell at school, and Potter in the Muggle world for secrecy's sake) next greeted her brother. They weren't even vaguely alike in looks, as Brandon was an adopted squib, with his sandy blonde hair and green eyes, and Amelia a witch with black hair and grayish- blue eyes, but her brother was also her best friend._

 _"You get fancier every year, next you'll be sipping tea from tiny cups and ordering me about. Oh wait, you do do that!"_

 _"Brandon, shut up."_

 _"Missed you too Amelia."_

 _He was three years younger, but spent most of his time helping their father take care of the land they lived on, was broad and muscular for a twelve year old. He could easily lift her, hugging her joyfully before their father took his turn greeting Amelia._

 _Solace Slytherin surveyed her two children, who knew her only as "mother" or "Sunny Peverell", feeling unbelievably happy with every tender, perfect family moment such as this._

Harry didn't violently bolt awake, but his eyes did open as the raw sense of loneliness tore through his chest. Bloody dreams. He reached for the dreamless sleep vial, then looked over at Vlad's drawn curtains. Deliberating, he had the vial uncorked and most of the way to his mouth before changing his mind. Vlad didn't even ask, just shifted along a little to make space for Harry. Their previous awkwardness gone, Harry swallowed his potion and fell asleep quickly.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologise. You're the only one of us who thinks it's weird. If I minded, you would know about it."

Chagrined, Harry watched as Vlad left to wash up and dress, then indicated Harry could leave without being seen. Everything was fine, until he was leaving for Healing and saw Vlad walking off with Viktor Krum.

He _wasn't_ jealous, so _why_ did it bother him?

-YDHP-

 **My apologies for a late update, I was delayed by the season finale of Sherlock and some screaming at the dramatics.**


	39. Troubled Perception

**Fangirlfriend 2 - There will be Vlad progression, not necessarily vampiric yet because he's not nearing sixteen! It's tied in to the tournament, bear with me! As for update schedule, the aim is to update every Sunday. Sometimes that stretches to 4am on a Monday morning (in the UK, where I am) because I am largely nocturnal. I write entirely on a smartphone, so I have to contend with writers block, have to take breaks to charge my phone and honestly I find it a miracle there haven't been too many mega late chapters. Sometimes I have it done by Tuesday, other times I am struggling to finish it by the Sunday. I am trying, promise!**

 **YokaiAngel - poor Harry? I felt bad for Vlad last chapter! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **VampireHarry the 2 - thank you!**

-YDHP-

"Where's Vlad?"

"Getting fitted for his tournament robes with the others. He wasn't impressed."

George giggled, she and Bella sliding into the seats opposite where Harry was looking out of the window to avoid his essay on kneazle care. The first task was mere days away, and as far as he knew, Vlad wasn't yet certain how he was planning to deal with a massive fire-breathing lizard. Whenever Harry expressed concern about that, Vlad just shrugged and pointed out he could handle his sister and father with a sound of amusement.

"This tournament is so weird. Who decided three schools should each volunteer a student, hope they don't die and call it co-operation?"

"No idea. How was your detention for those exploding biscuits?"

They hadn't hurt anybody, but George was too obvious when she fell into hysterics as several students picked up cookies and biscuits only to have them blow up in their face.

"Not bad. Professor Moonshine even complimented my exceptional brewing of the No-burn Slow-burn I used for it. Then made me bottle pickled frog guts for an hour."

"Nice."

"Better than Jacob, he had to extract slug livers for feeding babbling beverages to the house elves!"

" _Gross_!"

The two girls carried an animated conversation on all by themselves, but Harry was desperate enough to avoid his work that they were enormously amusing to him regardless. He looked out of the window again to see Vlad and Viktor Krum walking towards the Forbidden Forest - he actually hoped they were looking for the dragons, not that Vlad was taking him to see the thestral herd. Vlad's joy around the strange creatures was personal, private. He didn't know Krum well enough for him to see that, surely?

"Harryyyyy? Earth to Harry Potter?"

Shaking out of his reverie, Harry smiled at the two.

"Sorry, zoned out for a minute. What's up?"

"Want to come see the animals with us?"

That meant going to Hagrid's - he could get some advice on his essay, spend time with his friendly professor _and_ be able to spot Vlad leaving the Forest.

"Let's go. If you intend to see the skrewts, you better go get your dragonhide gloves."

"Good plan. Let's go Bella!"

They acquired Jason and Matthew too, who too lamented the loss of Quidditch that year as they headed down. It was ice cold outside, but the energetic second years had zero care for that as they dashed through the snow. Hagrid greeted them happily, thrilled by the avid interest in weird and slightly lethal creatures they had.

The blast ended skrewts were still growing in size while shrinking in number - they were several inches longer and turning a sickly grey colour, which would become the armoured plating of their skin within the month. And there were another five that had mysteriously vanished, likely eaten by their siblings.

They were totally, utterly repulsive, but George and her friends cooed over them like they were fluffy kittens, or bouncing puppies. At least they had their gloves on to protect from the flames spitting out of their rear ends. Staying a safe distance away while making sure nobody caught fire, Harry heard an unexpected voice.

"That's the hippogriff enclosure cleaned out ready for next week Hagrid."

"Much appreciated Cedric."

"I can get started on the bowtruckles, except I need someone to distract them."

Hagrid looked between the children even _he_ knew better than to leave alone with the skrewts and Cedric, but Harry had a lightbulb moment.

"I'll help. You stay with the little beasties. And the blast ended skrewts."

"I heard that Potter!"

Winking at George, Harry headed over to Cedric.

"What do I need to do?"

"Hold out these woodlice. And don't get close to the little hands, they are pretty sharp."

Harry couldn't even see what he was distracting, until random parts of the tree Cedric was getting close to started _moving._ As camouflage went, it was pretty effective.

"So, why are you down here? I'm watching the second years."

"Because being the school champion is fine, but with what happened with Vlad I get everyone coming up to talk about that. Hagrid doesn't care about any of that, and neither do the creatures."

"You know Vlad didn't do it, right?"

Cedric nodded, and Harry was relieved he didn't have to defend Vlad here. The sixth year transpired to be fairly easy company - he even apologised for not realising Harry had fallen off his broom before he caught the snitch the previous year.

"Vlad's a good guy. I take it you know about him?"

"That he told you about the dragons, or the whole future fangs thing? He's my best friend, what _don't_ I know about him?"

"So you two are _just_ friends? Sorry, I couldn't help asking."

Harry let the glare drop - it was hardly a rare occurrence by now that they seemed more than friends.

"Yes. I don't get why that's what everyone thinks. I mean, he's a _guy_."

"I forget you grew up in the Muggle world. Wizards really don't care."

"You say that, but Seamus seemed to mind very much when he accused Vlad of harboring a secret crush on me."

Cedric scooped up a bowtruckle, managing to measure it without getting clawed thanks to Harry's bowl of woodlice being more exciting. He considered what Harry said, shrugging as he released the wooden critter to a scattering of woodlice on the floor.

"You know what they say, most of the outward homophobia comes from people ashamed of themselves. Plus, Seamus is a half blood. Maybe his Muggle parent is less open minded."

"Maybe. Still doesn't make it right to attack Vlad."

"Does it bother you personally? Homosexuality I mean?"

"Uh, no, not really? Just irritates me that because we are best friends, everyone assumes there's more."

There _was_ more though, Harry's mind substituted. He slept in Vlad's bed, never thinking twice about seeking comfort when he was scared of his nightmares. Whenever Vlad wrapped his hand around Harry's wrist to soothe him - like he always had - Harry found himself with vague but persistently intrusive thoughts about whether it would be strange for them to hold hands. Even so, they were just... close. It wasn't _romantic_.

"Fair enough. Watch those sharp-"

It was too late, the bowtruckle had scratched Harry's hand and jumped down. Cedric managed to grab hold of it, which gave Harry time to turn around and pull his wand - hopefully Cedric wouldn't notice that he barely had a mark where he should have a deep, bleeding cut.

"You ok Harry?"

Flexing his hand like he had just healed it, he nodded and held it up to show the two pink lines.

"I take Healing. I'm fine."

He hadn't healed it at all - the lines that looked healed were all the damage that had been done. Cedric grabbed his hand to check, which made for the most awkward moment for someone to find them like that.

"If ve put a blonde vig on Harry, ve could pretend this was a secret champion meeting."

Vlad and Viktor Krum - obviously looking for where Harry was, there was little other reason to be around this side of the trees - found it looking like Cedric was making a romantic proposition to Harry. Even when they dropped their hands, Harry thought Vlad probably found it suspect.

"Hey guys. Just checking his hand was ok, a bowtruckle scratched him."

"Ve vere visiting the... vhat did you call them?"

"Thestrals."

"Vampire. Thestrals. Of course."

For a second, Harry was aghast that Cedric said it so casually, then realised everyone present already knew - Vlad had told him how he had been described as a vampire after the goblet of fire spat out his name. Then it occurred to him - Vlad had taken Krum to see the thestrals. A hot flash of anger surged, then vanished just as fast. What was wrong with him?

"They saved my life, I would have been gored by a unicorn if they weren't there to rescue me. So yeah, I'm a fan of the thestrals."

Vlad knew better than to bring up how they had also been pivotal in getting four children away from six werewolves. Harry knew about that. He would bet Krum didn't. Satisfied he was still the one who knew Vlad better, Harry felt an awkward silence stagnate between the four of them.

"Ready for the task then you two?"

He saw Vlad wink, grinning.

"How can you be ready for something you don't know anything about? Speaking of which, why do I have the worst colours for those Champion robes? Everyone else has perfectly fine mixes, but mine are brown and orange."

Cedric laughed aloud, quickly clapping his hand across his mouth to muffle the sound as Vlad scowled about the memory.

"Because they didn't originally account for you I guess."

"Since you are, vhat did they call it? The surplus champion?"

"I'm the target. Someone went to a great deal of trouble to ensure I get eaten by a dragon, or mauled by a manticore. Just because your headmaster and Madame Maxime think I cheated... actually, Dumbledore probably thinks it too. Anyway, you two looked... busy, so I'll leave you to it."

Krum waved cordially, then followed after Vlad who had left rather abruptly. Harry made a mental note to quiz him on that later, but didn't get much further before he heard George calling out for him. Cedric followed, finding the second years laughing hysterically at Hagrid trying to put a little cardigan with six arms over a skrewt.

"Maybe this is one of the tasks, pay attention Diggory!"

"Whatever you say _Georgina._ "

"I will hex you, sixth year or not. Merlin only knows what my mother was thinking giving me that name. Oh, it's almost dinner!"

"Magic forbid George miss a meal. I don't know where she puts it all!"

Hagrid and Cedric both walked them back up to the castle, and Harry followed a wretched glare from Igor Karkaroff to where Vlad was sat at Slytherin, opposite his sister and next to the Durmstrang champion. He felt the familiar growling in his chest, shaking his head to clear it.

He _wasn't_ jealous.

* * *

Dragons.

Vlad was still reeling from the fact he had an as yet unnamed task against several tonnes of fire breathing lizard. Samael couldn't breathe fire, nor did he seem inclined to hurt Vlad.

On the plus side - he _did_ have Charlie Weasley. Who was only too keen to ensure Vlad had the best chance of at least **surviving** the task.

"So Chinese Fireball, Swedish Short-Snout, Welsh Green and Hungarian Horntail? How do we know who gets what?"

"Random selection on the day. To ensure you can only cheat so far, I guess. Dragons are tough at best, and for some hellish reason they only wanted nesting mothers so these gals are extra lethal. Magic won't penetrate their hide, and you aren't going to out muscle it. No offence, but you're smaller than a Horntails hatchling and not exactly built like Diggory or Krum."

"Ok. Anything I should be looking out for in particular? Specieswise? Can a Chinese Fireball turn into a giant ball of fire?"

"No, it's bright colours give it that name. The Horntail, funnily enough, has a very spiky tail. Sharp enough to cleave flesh from bone if it gets you right."

"Then I'm certain that's the one I'll get."

"In which case you have two choices. Blind it or distract it. I would prefer you don't permanently destroy their eyes, I love dragons."

"How do you distract a nesting mother from her eggs? Blimey, Norbert was a hatchling and didn't make a fun buddy. Granted, my own mother is basically a dragon... I'll figure it out. Thanks Charlie."

Charlie Weasley slung an arm around his shoulder, giving him a brotherly squeeze.

"You're basically family. Without the freckles and red hair. You and Harry. And even Draco and Hermione. Plus you're powerful, and obscenely intelligent but they still have three years learning, power and head teachers helping them. Nobody told me I couldn't give you dragon lessons."

"I should get out of here before the other handlers come back and think I'm flirting with you for information."

"Hilarious. You're too young for me Vladdo!"

"Wait. So you're..."

"Gay? Yep. Doesn't matter here, ask my boyfriend. Well, you could but he's still in Romania. Come on, I'll walk you to the Great Hall so the international Quidditch player with a horde of fan girls can make eyes at you."

Feeling his cheeks flame, Vlad glared at the dragon handler.

"Hilarious. He doesn't _make eyes_ at me!"

"Whatever you say Vladdo. Get a shift on!"

Charlie left him in the Entrance Hall, heading back out to join the other handlers while Vlad joined the throng of students milling into the Great Hall for sustenance. At least he had a vague idea of what he was going in to now, and what against.

Even so, he really hated how some bizarre tension had built between him and Harry ever since the intersection of he and Viktor, and Harry and Cedric. It had taken a great deal of self control not to break Cedric's arm to get him off of Harry, and the longer he stood there looking at the two the harsher the sting was.

Harry being straight was one thing. Harry _not_ being straight, but not being interested Vlad was entirely another. It was unfair on Harry to be angry, he knew but it **hurt**.

"Vladimir? Are you alright?"

Shaking his head to clear the cloud of angry thoughts, he could **feel** the presence of another creature nearby before he looked up to see Fleur Delacour. Several other Beauxbatons girls were not far away, a couple fussing with their hair and giggling in his direction. When he looked down, he saw his knuckles white with the fierce grip around _Dragon Specifications Volume Four._

"Yeah. Fine. Just doing a little reading to kill time. Good luck for the task."

She smiled, then turned to rejoin her friends. Some continued to throw glances his way, and Vlad actually checked he hadn't spilled food on his clothes or left his zipper undone. Nothing embarrassing leapt out at him, so he put his books back and stood to leave. Fleur offered a perfectly friendly smile, and that made it all the more obvious a couple of the girls weren't just giving him friendly looks.

They had _no_ chance. They weren't _Harry._

Half a dozen blindness charms memorised, one intense session on dragon hazards with Bertrand (and Charlie, secretly) and a few learned Transfiguration spells later, Vlad was laying in bed staring at the canopy of his bed the night before the task. He and Harry still hung out, spent time together but something infinitesimal had shifted, and he wasn't sure what it was but Vlad didn't like it - Harry seemed withdrawn at times.

It made the ache in his chest return, and he was worried his newly fascinated Bulgarian friend would recognise the signs somehow.

"Don't give me that look Lily. Harry's already told you you can't come to the dragon task. At least, that's what he told me he said. He could have been talking about dipping you in custard for all I know."

Lily continued to look at him through beady eyes, making a couple of hissing noises Vlad couldn't understand before slithering up to loosely coil around where Phantom was already sleeping in a big ball of black fur. He should really sleep... exhaustion wouldn't help him pass the task.

He woke early to Phantom licking his ear, fuelled so much by nerves that he couldn't get close to sleeping again. Choosing some hard-wearing trousers and boots, Vlad pulled on a warm jumper and shoved his gloves and wand into a pocket before slinking out of a dorm full of snores, then a near-empty common room.

Barely done sleepily swallowing down some porridge - and ignoring a far-too-alert George Giles cover her eggs and bacon in chocolate sauce - Vlad and the other champions were each 'collected' from their seats. One champion per table it seemed. He was bolstered by Harry, Hermione and Draco shouting "good luck" when they caught him leaving, nerves well and truly setting in again as he was led to the large marquee tent in lurid colours.

There were four little sectioned off cubicles, their champion robes hanging off a hook in each one to indicate who was meant to be in each one.

"Oh look, we have our own rooms!"

"Vlad, _behave_! It's clearly not a real room, there's no bed!"

He had Tonks in his 'corner' as it were - Cedric had Dumbledore, Fleur Madam Maxime and Viktor had Karkaroff. He would probably have been chaperoned by Bertrand usually, but Vlad insisted he stay where he could keep an eye on Ingrid and Harry.

"Don't worry about your sister. She's _accidentally_ ended up sitting with your friends instead of with the Slytherin and Durmstrang students."

Tonks managed to give him a sly whisper as everyone seperated to change, and Vlad felt infinitely better knowing Ingrid and Harry were safely together and still had Bertrand watching them.

"Thanks Tonks. I uh, I can dress myself though."

"Oh yes, put... that on."

The vile garb sadly fit him perfectly, so Vlad was left with no excuse not to wear it. The head teachers - plus Tonks - were all grouped near the tent door around a bag, apparently deep in conversation.

"Are you alright Vlad?"

"Peachy. Terrified."

Viktor placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling encouragingly. Even though they were competing against each other, he was still being a good friend. There was a sudden flash of light, accompanied by a shrill voice.

"Well well well, what do we have here?"

Cedric and Fleur immediately moved in closer, forming ranks tightly against Rita Skeeter.

"This tent eez for champions."

Skeeter hummed, mumbling to a floating acid green quill and notepad next to her head before offering a truly unconvincing, smarmy grin at the foursome. Marshalling what nerve he had left, Vlad grinned back.

"She wants an exclusive. Here's a direct quote you can use."

The reporter leaned in, showing way too much teeth and wearing far too much perfume.

"Yes?"

" **Go away.** "

Before she and her photographer could do more than scowl in protest, the grown ups were returning. She managed to nab another photo of the four of them, no doubt highlighting how Vlad was the shortest of the four and ducking his head awkwardly before finally being herded out. Barty Crouch soon joined them, making Vlad feel off centre as a sense of _wrongness_ filled the air around him.

"Each of you will take something from this bag. They represent four very real obstacles, and the order in which you will face them."

Some dark and juvenile part of him was amused when the bags contents seemed to attack Cedric. It wasn't fair on the other Hogwarts participant, because he had been nothing but nice to Vlad, but since Harry and Cedric had been hanging out, Harry had been acting weird. He pulled out a small bright red dragon with a number one around it's neck.

"The Chinese Fireball, and you'll be going first. Miss Delacour?"

Fleur pulled the Swedish Short Snout, and a number three. Viktor went next, and his was the Welsh Green complete with a little two card on it. Which left Vlad with...

"Last but not least, Hungarian Horntail! These represent a real dragon each, with a golden egg you must retrieve. The champions will not return to this tent, but rather will be moved to the second one for any medical attention required. So you are to wait here Mr Dracula."

"Figures. What if I die of boredom? Is that a disqualification?"

That won him wry grins from his fellow champions and Tonks, but disapproving looks from the heads of schools and departments. The stands outside were filling, Vlad could hear wooden footsteps and excitable chatter outside. This was all very real, especially when Dumbledore and Crouch both stuck their heads out of the tent, then came back in nodding.

"Very well. Mr Diggory, on the sound of the cannon-"

Filch had clearly jumped the gun a bit as the cannon sounded immediately, and Cedric straightened his shoulders out before walking out with Professor Dumbledore and Barty Crouch.

"Here we go!"

-YDHP-

 **I've written the First Task scene from both Harry and Vlad's POV, but I only realistically want to use one of them or the next chapter will drag out too much I think. Any preferences? I mean, Vlad's is obviously more in-person but Harry's is all four champions...**


	40. First Task

**Guest - I kind of like them too! But alas, poor Viktor is not Harry! Maybe I'll do a oneshot for Vlad and Viktor some time...**

 **VampireHarry the 2 + YokaiAngel - thank you hugely!**

 **Advance warning for... lack of dragon canon facts I guess? Other than that, let's roll!**

-YDHP-

Harry couldn't fail to miss the swarm of envious looks he was getting for sitting next to Ingrid - who had a large parasol in black, complete with sunglasses. It was _November._ Then again, she was a vampire. Flanking her other sides were Hermione and Draco, Fred and George and even Charlie Weasley. It was like guarding a celebrity - one that hexed people who got too close that was.

"Careful now, people might start thinking you care what happens to your little brother."

"Maybe I just wanted a front row seat to him being eaten alive."

"Shame we can't do that to our little bro."

"Or Percy."

"Or both."

"Will you two shut up? They are starting!"

Fred and George fell silent, taking turns pulling faces at the back of Charlie's head until everyone's attention turned to the cannon-fire sound. And the enormous dragon that had been hidden by a masking charm until that moment.

"Chinese Fireball. And that's..." Charlie pulled out a small pocket telescope that had 'dental checks' written on the side "Cedric Diggory. I'm sure they will tell us all of that now, but nobody will be listening."

The Chinese Fireball was a brilliant shade of red, gold scales flecked all the way down it's spine to the tip of it's tail. It even had the 'chinese dragon' shape, longer and more streamlined than most dragons Harry had seen in books, or down in Gringotts.

"What do they have to do?"

"See the egg nest down there? One isn't a real dragon egg. They have to get it, and not get either eaten or roasted alive."

Harry peered down, spotting the golden egg shining in amongst a half-dozen dark red and yellow eggs. This sounded really, ridiculously dangerous.

"Wait. They have to get near a nesting mothers eggs? Are they _mad?"_

"That's what I said. It's insanity! Renee and Jackson both thought so too, but still volunteered to hang down at ground level just in case. Though there isn't much time for 'just in case' when you're about to get eaten by a dragon."

Attention returned to the ground below, where Cedric was up against the dragon with nothing more than a wand and a death wish, apparently. He circled the dragon slowly, being matched step for step by the mother defending her nest. Harry was _sort of_ rooting for Cedric... though obviously he and the older boy hadn't been friends that long, so his ultimate goal was Vlad surviving, winning a close second to any competitive Gryffindor.

"So is he going to get barbecued or not? The lack of screaming agony is starting to bore me."

"You do remember the goal is to _survive,_ right Ingrid?"

 _"Boring."_

Cedric started moving again, looking around himself and the nearby rocky terrain. The dragon watched closely, her body very much between him and the eggs. Eventually he settled on what appeared to be a Transfiguration spell - he turned a nearby rock into a dog, according to Ingrid and her superior sight. It seemed to work pretty well, the dragons attention distracted and Cedric got very close to the nest.

Hands on the egg, either the dragon noticed or the spell ended - nobody was looking that way - because there was a thunderous screech as Cedric lifted the egg, and then a stream of flame that seemed hell-bent on consuming the Hufflepuff completely. Half the stadium erupted in screams and gasps of terror - except Ingrid, who was _cheering_ \- and the two handlers Charlie pointed out dashed in to put out the flames.

"I suppose technically since he got the egg, he completed the task so they can intervene?"

"Either that or they have a crush on Cedric."

Hermione took a second out of clutching her boyfriends hand as they waited to see if Cedric was ashes to glare at the twins.

"Very mature Fred."

"I'm George!"

Charlie looked around, then shook his head.

"No you're not. Look, he's alive!"

Clutching his egg and patting at the flames on his head, Cedric appeared to be standing on his own two feet.

"Mr Diggory will be taken for medical treatment" Harry imagined Madam Pomfrey threatening anyone who tried to get in the way of that "as the scores are announced."

There was nothing to compare to yet, but assuming he was being scored out of ten per judge, Cedric scored over half. Next up, Harry couldn't seem to quash his scowl as Viktor Krum came out. It was a feat of clear practice and magical skill as the handlers took one dragon away to be replaced with what Charlie said was a Welsh Green.

It _was_ very green. And probably from Wales. Dragon names weren't all that creative, Harry noticed. The initial surprise and shock of the task involving dragons had worn off a little, but now they were watching a famous person do it the Hogwarts students were going nuts, and the Durmstrang students were near manic before he had done more than look very small at the size pf approximately one dragon claw.

"Come on, somebody get eaten already!"

" _Ingrid!_ "

She paid no mind to Hermione's scolding, smirking in her usual malicious manner and watching Viktor Krum try to work out what to do with his dragon. A jealous and confusing part of his mind really hoped the seeker at least got a little mauled... Horrified with himself, Harry made himself join in with the good-natured cheering as he dodged a few fireballs.

"That better not do permanent damage."

Charlie was muttering under his breath, watching as whatever Krum did caused the dragon to raise her fore-claws to her snout, eyes screwed up and agonised roars leaving her mouth. He managed to get his egg, but narrowly missed being stomped on as a gigantic claw slammed down on the nest.

"Did he just _kill_ a nest of eggs?"

"Nah, we used fake ones. No handler would risk real babies! They are real nesting mothers though, their eggs are with the other handlers. We had to count them to make sure Hagrid didn't nick any."

Harry couldn't help chuckling, watching as Krum got scored several points higher than Cedric had - helped no doubt by his full ten points from Karkaroff.

"No favouritism there at all."

"Yeah but I bet Fleur gets full points from _her_ headmistress too. Dumbledore just doesn't want to appear biased, he still gave Cedric the highest score out of the four judges."

"Everybody is a little favouritist... like we all want Vlad to win right?"

"Speak for your Gryffindor selves, I still want to see Vlad get eaten."

Ingrid maintained an outward appearance of absolute boredom, but Harry was perfectly sure she would be happy about Vlad coming out of the task alive... perhaps not unscathed, she did enjoy others in pain a tad too much. Charlie was watching as they switched dragons - this one was a Swedish Short Snout, with it's nearly flat face and blueish-yellow scales giving a distinctly unusual dragon look compared to the previous ones.

"So we've had distraction, conjunctivitis curse... it'll be a surprise if either of the other two manage something original because there aren't many other ways to fight a dragon. Vlad has the... oh, he was right."

"Vlad has what?"

"I mentioned there was a more dangerous than usual dragon, and Vlad cracked a joke saying that's the one he would get. Anyway, hush. The Beauxbatons lass is coming out."

Even in her unflattering Champion robes over the usual powder blue jacket and skirt she wore, Fleur was still exceptionally attractive. Harry _didn't_ share that with Ingrid, as he was not keen on the idea of her feeding him to the dragon.

"I'll be damned, she came up with a new strategy! And it's working!"

Holding her wand up toward the dragon, it appeared to be... napping. Harry was forcibly reminded of Fluffy the three headed dog, everyone on tenterhooks as Fleur crept closer to the nest. She made it within a few inches before a sudden spurt of flame - the dragon had started _snoring_ \- set her skirt alight. It probably wouldn't have made much difference, if she hadn't had to stop sleep-charming the dragon to put out the flames. It was a frantic dash for her to grab the egg and dodge a few flame breaths, skidding into the safe zone amidst cheers.

"I think she will probably get points docked for not doing anything exciting."

"Even if she did no damage to herself, the dragon _or_ the eggs. And got the prize?"

"Hey, I didn't make the rules for this thing. Just did my research. Dragon handling is surprisingly quiet when it's nesting season so long as they are all kept seperate."

"How long have you known about the tournament?"

"A few months before term started. Not easy to bring in dragons. What do you think I asked Bertrand about before?"

Charlie winked, and Harry remembered him taking the tutor aside for a few minutes months ago at Malfoy Manor. He was checking the dragons wouldn't react negatively to vampires. That at least soothed Harry's concern that it would be another repeat of Vlad meeting a hippogriff, where the immediate response had been 'kill the vampire'.

"And you didn't tell us?"

"Charlie, I'm hurt!"

"Be quiet, Vlad's dragon is being brought out. Meet the Hungarian Horntail."

The twins shut up, practically jumping off the stands to get a good look at the _huge_ dragon. At least ten feet bigger than the last one, with its jet black scales and big, reptilian eyes topped and tailed by bronze horns and spikes on the tail, Vlad had _definitely_ picked the scariest looking dragon. She wasn't quite as long as Samael, but twice as thick and had extra appendages like wings and legs. Plus the whole breathing fire.

"Uncommonly aggressive - and that's from a dragon handler! Plus that fire she breathes will melt those rocks in under ten seconds concentrated fire. I hope Vlad likes feeling warm and toasty! Faster than the firebolt..."

"Will you stop that?"

Hermione looked as worried as Harry felt, knuckles white in their death grip on Draco's hand. It was lucky he was a werewolf, toughened by the changes, or Hermione may have broken his hand by now. Harry could sympathise - this would usually be when Vlad was trying to calm him down, but instead he was coming out of the brightly coloured marquee every other champion had come from.

"He's a scrawny little thing, maybe the dragon won't be able to see him."

"Helpful Ingrid."

Harry didn't see the look on her face, too busy feeling terrified for his best friend as he took in the mammoth beast he was supposed to be outsmarting. Vlad wasn't even looking at the dragon, eyes scanning the crowds before landing on the box clearly in his corner - Fred and George alone were making an outrageous amount of encouraging noises. Ingrid was the only one who could really see his face from where they were, lifted his wand up to his own face and then he was gone.

"The flaming fruitbat, he literally winked up here before he vanished!"

"If he dies down there I'm going to kill him! Shut up Draco."

Hermione was right alongside Harry as they peered over to search for him. Harry willed the generally inconvenient magical vision he was always suppressing forward, the entire grounds suddenly brilliantly lit up with the smorgasbord of transforming charms, transfigured terrain and protective wards to stop the dragon just eating everyone around it. Vlad's invisibility spells were pretty thorough, but if he squinted Harry could just spot a shimmer about Vlad's size blurring past the dragons left leg.

"Mr Dracula appears to have vanished!"

The commentator hadn't really registered with Harry until then, chuckling to himself through his fear for Vlad at the surprise evident in their voice. Then again, he was used to Vlad periodically vanishing into thin air only to scare the living daylights out of Harry by creeping up behind him. The Horntail wasn't stupid, curling her enormous wing around the nest and even from there, Harry could see her huge nostrils working to sniff out the threat to her eggs.

She roared angrily when a fireball slammed into her wing from behind, turning a scaly, reptilian face to search for the source. Another hit from the other side, forcing her to whip her head around. Squinting, Harry watched the Vlad-blur dart back to aim at her tail. The fireballs weren't really going to harm a _dragon,_ but anything construed as an attack on her eggs would do the job and Vlad probably knew that, was intentionally opting for something that wouldn't cause much damage to the dragon.

Eventually she had to move a little away from the nest to search properly as Vlad continued flinging fireballs at her from sporadic spots, surprisingly agile for her size as she whipped around in search. The Vlad-blur made a break for it, aiming for the nest by the looks of things and it looked as though Vlad was home free.

At the last second the Horntail changed tack, whipping the huge barbed tail around and lashing cleanly in a direct hit against Vlad. His invisibility spell began to flicker as blood poured from the spot he was standing, a deep gash evident where his clothes had not stood a chance at protecting him. In between flickers, the pain was obvious on Vlad's face and it was a wonder to everyone how he was still standing. His face turned to the dragon, then the nest and Harry wanted to hex the idiot for not getting out of there before he bled to death.

"He's speaking his spells, so he's not gonna hold much longer."

Flames shot in Vlad's direction, but he managed to throw himself behind a large enough boulder to withstand it. Or at least to stop it melting Vlad in place. The spell was still flickering in and out - Vlad didn't have the concentration to cancel it and that would be draining even _his_ magical reserve.

Water came pouring out of Vlad's wand - he must really be weak if he was using that - before freezing solid in midair, forming a temporary shield against the flames and giving Vlad a direct and clear path to the egg. Even at a distance, Harry could practically _feel_ the effort it took Vlad to stand again, clutching his bleeding chest and stumbling-running for the egg. The Horntail was making short work of the icy shield, the puddle beneath it diluting Vlad's spattered blood along the ground but Vlad managed to get the egg in his wand arm and jumped down into a slightly shielded part of the up and down terrain.

"Why aren't they getting him out of there?"

"Technically he has to reach the safe zone to complete the challenge."

"They pulled Cedric out!"

Charlie sighed, nodded seemingly to himself and then **vanished** from his seat. Harry was about to panic when he saw him reappear near the dragon eggs, wand out to subdue the dragon expertly before he jumped down to where Vlad was. The other handlers came running out, and Charlie was visibly lifting Vlad and carrying him to what could only (hopefully) be the medical tent.

"Come on. That medical tent is the other end of the stadium."

Ingrid, Hermione, Draco, the twins and Harry all made for the stairs down, knowing they would probably be slowed down by someone but he seriously doubted they would be in Ingrid's way for long.

Sure enough, there were Ministry officials (going by the uniforms) at the tent entrance who attempted to stop them, but Ingrid bodily flung them aside with a swipe of her hand. There was blood trailing on the grassy floor, and Charlie was wiping his hands down just inside the tent.

Vlad, if anything, looked paler than usual and definitely worse than he had outside. Harry's momentary irritation at seeing Viktor Krum helping Vlad stay upright died when he realised the seeker was also holding some sort of bucket that Vlad appeared to be vomiting into.

"Remove that idiotic healer."

"Zey 'ave poisoned Vladimir!"

Fleur Delacour - still with mildly singed skirt - was trying to chase off the man in mint green robes, who looked perplexed by whatever was going on. Harry spied Cedric - coated from head to bare chest and stomach in some thick orange paste - dragging said healer away.

"What did they give him to make him this sick?"

"Blood replenisher. The idiot gave him one that isn't compatible for Vlad."

Hermione asked, and Ingrid answered. Harry could only assume that meant a vampire-based issue.

"That'll be why I insisted a separate box of medicine for him, clearly labelled! Honestly, these Ministry healers never listen."

Madam Pomfrey - having successfully chased the man away - tried to get closer to Vlad, but he couldn't seem to stop wretching into the bucket.

"Anti-emetic won't even stay down."

"Vhat do ve do? He is already very veak."

To his credit, Harry admitted grudgingly, Krum didn't seem phased by the violent heaving, merely terrified for Vlad.

"Can you hold him still for a second?"

"Mr Weasley I don't-"

"Trust us? The worst that happens is he pukes this back up!"

Fred (maybe) was holding a sweet comprised of two halves - orange and purple. The other twin reached out and snapped the purple bit off, cringed lightly and proceeded to somehow force it down Vlad's throat. The effect was immediate, Vlad's tremors stopping as the vomiting did and he fainted.

Madam Pomfrey shooed them all back while she gave Vlad the correct medication from a very obviously labelled black box, and everyone turned to the Weasley twins.

"What was that?"

"Puking Pastilles. Joke sweet. Orange end makes you sick nonstop, purple end makes it stop."

"Some of my finest work!"

"I think you'll find it was _my_ work."

Now everything was slowing down a little, Harry could notice how Fleur and Cedric looked just as concerned for Vlad as any of them, camaraderie between supposed competitors over the underage vampire contestant. Vlad never failed to surprise him.

 _"Ennervate."_

The entire tent seemed to sigh in relief when Vlad groaned weakly, eyes fluttering open and the faintest hints of colour flushing his pale cheeks.

"Ow. Don't play with dragons kids. It's a bit of a blur... did I get the egg?"

"Indeed. Eet iz right zere."

"You gave us a fright Vladdo."

"Charles Weasley! You blatantly broke the rules of the Tournament!"

Everyone turned to see a handful of Ministry workers, the three head teachers and the remaining dragon handlers pouring into the tent. They all turned and formed ranks, protecting a still-weak Vlad.

"And I would do it again. Vlad would have bled to death! He got the egg, and nobody complained about Renee saving Cedric from being a barbecued badger. That's what the emergency internal portkeys were made for!"

Dumbledore stepped up to the wall of teenagers, clearly intending to get through to Vlad. None of them moved.

"Oh, did you score Vlad by the way?"

"We were a bit distracted."

The headmaster looked at Fred and George like he couldn't quite believe what they were saying, and it was Karkaroff who answered.

"He should be disqualified for cheating!"

"How did he cheat? By passing out from blood loss? Vlad was out cold when I got to him. That would be disqualification for _not dying._ "

Twice the skinny man's breadth and wrestling dragons for a living, Charlie Weasley cut a fairly impressive figure with blood stains on his t-shirt and a harsh glare on his face. Weasleys were protective of their family, and they had all said they saw the Malfoy Manor inhabitants and co as family.

Dumbledore managed to seperate the students by then, and several people took a look at Vlad.

"What's that on his chest?"

The silence fell so heavily a unicorns footstep could have been heard, as Harry realised Vlad's distinctively-like-his-own lightning bolt scar was on display after the dragon had made short work of his shirt. Vlad lifted a hand to pull the torn fabric closed but the damage was done.

"You get mauled by a Horntail and see if you have no scars. Either tell Vlad his score or let the nurse do her job."

Again, Charlie stood up for Vlad - he didn't even know the story he was hiding - and put his broad body between them and the teachers.

"He and Viktor are tied for first place, Mr Diggory in second and Miss Delacour in third. Come along Olympe, Igor, Albus. The champions need healing."

Both Ingrid and Vlad were staring at Crouch, but that wasn't unusual anymore - Vlad said he felt _wrong,_ but couldn't place why. Eventually the adults left, and Hermione quickly cast a _Reparo_ charm on Vlad's tattered shirt.

"Ok. So... does anybody want to tell us why Vlad's got that scar, and why he was allergic to the potion in the first place?"

"Come on Charlie, it's obvious."

"And we get called the stupid ones!"

Vlad and Ingrid both had the usual 'deer-in-headlights' look, that one that said their secret was about to come out.

"Ok, I'll bite. What?"

"Well, you won't"

"But they will."

"Vampires bro!"

"You _knew?"_

Fred and George exchanged cheeky grins, then shook their heads in eerie sync at Vlad.

"Come on, we've spent years stalking Ingrid"

"How would we not know?"

"Figured you would tell us when you were ready"

"But then this nosy ginger bloke started asking questions."

"Are zey always like zis?"

Fleur was watching the twins with a confused look, unused to their unique manner of speech.

"Pretty much. Have I been given Replenisher? Doesn't feel like it. And I'm sorry for basically puking on you Viktor."

"It's ok, you actually hurled on the healer. Viktor got the bucket."

Madam Pomfrey gave Vlad the green vial that barely lasted a second, his blue eyes practically lighting up as it worked through his system.

"Much better. Aside from Cedric being painted to look like a Weasley, was anyone else hurt?"

"Nah, only you had to go and almost die out there."

Vlad chuckled, looking massive amounts healthier compared to before now the potions had all kicked in. Madam Pomfrey shooed most of them - minus Harry and Ingrid - out after they saw Vlad was going to live - out, pointing out they had to leave soon for lunch. It was the first time in months Harry hadn't noticed it was a mealtime. Relatively unharmed, Fleur and Krum were both summoned to leave by their heads shortly after. Krum picked up his egg, then leant down to give Vlad a one-armed hug and whispered "get well soon." Fleur kissed Vlad's cheek, smiled and left too.

For reasons he wasn't sure of, Harry felt uncomfortable with it, like he was intruding on something private and intimate between Vlad and the seeker. Still, Vlad indicated his head for Harry to sit next to him, and Ingrid sat daintily in the chair next to his bed.

"I hope I get to keep this."

Vlad held out his hand out, a miniature of the dragon that had almost killed him puttering about on his palm. It flapped it's wings, opened it's mouth and roared realistically. Luckily, it **didn't** breathe fire.

"What's it for?"

"We picked them out of a bag at random. See the little four? That says I go last. I think I'll call her... _Ingrid."_

"You're gonna regret surviving that dragon you garlic muncher!"

Laughing to himself as Vlad smiled unapologetically at his sister, Harry felt the tension leech out of him. He was with his best friend, and Vlad had survived.

This task, at least.

* * *

In spite of the suddenness and blood loss, Vlad didn't rank getting gored by the Horntail as more painful than taking a Killing Curse, or even watching Harry kiss Susan the previous year.

Being practically poisoned by the wrong medicine and violently vomiting after having chunks torn out of him, however, was pretty close. Not to mention _mortifying,_ followed by him fainting. And that was after he had had to be rescued, unconscious from the path of dragon fire.

Then outed as a vampire, almost spotted with his AK scar, and the awkwardness of not being fit to stand up and defend himself while everyone else did it for him. Then there was the confusing look on Harry's face when Viktor hugged him goodbye, but _not_ when Fleur kissed his cheek and wished him good health. Surely Harry should be jealous of the attractive girl, not the friendly seeker?

Madam Pomfrey practically hogtied him to get Vlad spending the night in the Hospital Wing - both in case his lacerations had gotten infected, and to ensure he had no further reactions to the incompatible blood replenisher. If he hadn't have been a vampire, that task probably would have actually killed him. And Vlad had begged both Ingrid and Bertrand to _never_ tell that to Hermione - she would kill him for almost dying. Lucky he was able to withstand more blood loss than a normal human.

"I hope Ingrid turned the Ministry Healer into lunch. That was wholly unpleasant."

"I apologise for being distracted, Mr Diggory had extensive burns."

"Oh no, I don't blame you. I blame him for missing the big huge label with my name on it. And considering how much of it was coming out of me, the colour of my blood should have been a dead giveaway. Is Cedric okay?"

"Fine. His scars will disappear within a day or two, and the hair-regrowth potion will be used after that. He will be right as rain. Now eat your dinner, I have little doubt your entourage will be arriving as soon as dinner is over."

That brought hope he would see Harry if he ate his vegetables, so Vlad quietly worked through his dinner and stared at the golden egg he had almost died for. It didn't scream 'clue' at him, but apparently held information about the second task. Very important information - apparently they wouldn't have a hope of completing the second task without it.

Vlad was done with the food before dinner was officially over. Knowing Harry's appetite as well as he did, Vlad figured he had time and shifted the egg to his lap. It was pretty big, surprisingly heavy and had a strange twiddly bit at the top which presumably opened it. Looking around to see he was very alone other than Madam Pomfrey, Vlad twisted the knob and the egg split open like a banana peel.

The sound it made was _horrendous,_ like a band of yowling street cats being put through a mechanical car crusher. He slammed it closed immediately, the noise thankfully vanishing with that and he cowered slightly under Madam Pomfreys stare.

"I didn't know it would do that! What kind of clue is that? Is the Second Task torturing cats?"

"I have no idea, but kindly do _not_ do that again while you're supposed to be recuperating!"

Vlad took that to mean do not do that again in the Hospital Wing ever, shoving it back on the bedside table and taking a mouthful of water. The door to the Hospital Wing opened, and Vlad couldn't help feeling a touch disappointed that it wasn't Harry.

"I've been reliably informed this is an excellent vay to cheer you up. How are you feeling?"

Viktor held out an orange flask that he knew would contain pumpkin juice, smiling gratefully as he accepted it.

"It is. And better, thanks. This" he indicated the room they were in "is mostly because nobody is sure I completely expelled that bloody potion. Who told you about my juice habit?"

"Ingrid. Confirmed by... Theodore, vas his name?"

"Yeah, I spent last Valentines with Ingrid, Theo and Blaise in Hogsmeade because Harry had a date and Ingrid hates everybody. My opting for pumpkin juice over butterbeer was hilarious to them because I drink it every mealtime too. You didn't... who's keeping Weasley away from Ingrid?"

"Nobody. He is resting on the ship... somebody appears to have slipped him a bizarre sweet that didn't agree vith him. Ministry Healers fixed him up but he vasn't feeling well."

The dark eyes were alight with amusement, and Vlad had a _very_ good idea who had slipped Ronald a dodgy toffee. Probably related to the disgusting sweet that had stopped his sickness earlier that day.

"So, we're tied for first place? I think that's what they told me, I was a little out of it earlier."

"Indeed. Try not to vorry everybody so much in the next task."

"No promises. Though if it's not a Hungarian Horntail again, how bad can it be?"

Viktor chuckled, then turned as the door opened again.

"Sorry, didn't realise you had company."

"I vas just leaving, I only vanted to check he vas alright."

He got the usual shoulder squeeze, then Viktor was passing Harry in the doorway on his way out.

"So... _are_ you alright?"

"Peachy. Bored. Glad this isn't going to leave a permanent scar. Mildly terrified of the matron, but I bust out tomorrow and get to work out why this egg is full of screeching noises."

Harry lifted the egg, testing the weight and inspecting the little patterns in its golden surface, tracing a finger along the indentations.

"So you nearly get roasted by the full size of your Ingrid miniature, for an egg full of screeching?"

"Pretty much. Don't open it, Madam Pomfrey will poison me in my sleep."

His mouth curled up in a smirk, tanned hand creeping up to the switch at the top and Vlad wondered if Harry had _any idea_ how appealing Vlad found that mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

"Would make Charlie getting you out a little redundant. So, where did you get the idea for the dragon?"

"Muggle fiction section. Dragon story book series, there was a lot of using fireballs to deter or distract because dragon hide is basically the perfect level of fireproof. It worked! I just didn't account for how fast she could move her tail and my eyes were on the egg for about three seconds too long."

"Muggle fiction? Really?"

"If I read another factual book about dragons, I will jam stakes into my eyes. I needed a break, that caught my eye. I might read the sequels for fun... maybe after I've had a century or two to forget almost being Horntail lunch."

Still smiling, Harry stole one of Vlad's left over bread rolls and the mini knob of butter that sat next to it. When he caught Vlad eyeing him knowingly, Harry grinned unapologetically.

"What? I will have you know, I missed lunch to sit next to you while you were so out of it on potions you told Ingrid you liked her necklace earlier."

"Did I? Did she hex me?"

"Nah, she laughed when you started singing 'ten blood bottles' to yourself before you fell asleep. Then Madam Pomfrey kicked us out and said you would be allowed visitors after dinner."

Vlad felt really rather popular all of a sudden, because the doors swung open again to reveal Charlie Weasley.

"Me and the other handlers are leaving when it gets dark, so I came to say goodbye. And to make sure you know I don't mind you being a biter."

"Right. Well, thanks. And you know, thanks for saving my life and all. I heard you got yelled at for that."

Charlie grinned, leaning down to give Vlad a secure, brotherly hug. It was so platonic and genuine he didn't even feel a flash of irritation when Harry got the same treatment.

"No worries. They made special portkeys that only worked in that space _exactly_ for distracting the dragon and saving a champion. So really, I got yelled at for doing my job and saving my honorary little bro, which is so absurd it's funny. Try not to get attacked by dragons again anytime soon, I still remember it was you who got bitten by Norbert!"

"Funnily enough, neither of those things were intentional."

"I believe you. Quiet life, right?"

"You're one to talk, you're a dragon handler!"

"Yeah, well... be quiet and get better. Good luck with the other tasks, I'm sure the twins will write to me giving me over exaggerated and fantastical tales about it."

Vlad genuinely enjoyed Charlie Weasleys presence and company - he was laid back, relaxed and open about his sexuality, happily helped Vlad learn what he could for the task and then literally saved his life. It was hard _not_ to like him really.

Harry stayed until Madam Pomfrey kicked him out, gave Vlad a hug and promised to come get him if he hadn't been released by breakfast. Vlad happily accepted the Dreamless Sleep potion - he didn't thrill in the idea of his recent chest injury raising some Riddle-related nightmares when his body desperately needed the rest.

He was allowed to leave for breakfast, with the sworn promise he would return if he felt the slightest bit unwell. The Great Hall was abuzz with chatter, several eyes on Vlad as he slid into a seat between Harry and Neville and helped himself to a stack of toast and eggs.

"Anything you want to tell us Vlad?"

There was blatant mirth in Draco's grey eyes, and Vlad didn't know why but guessed it was to do with the _Daily Prophet_ paper in front of him.

"No? What does it say?"

The paper was flipped over to show the top half, which contained a moving photo of that brief second where Viktor had placed a hand on Vlad's shoulder to wish him luck, complete with a rather incriminating and yet utterly false headline.

 _'Alleged cheater and underage champion flirts way to first!'_

"You have _got_ to be kidding me! I would love to know how 'flirting' got me maimed by a Horntail, never mind that he was trying to stop me panicking with nerves and that bejewelled beast of hair products just happened to walk in then. To clarify, I'm not dating" Vlad snorted as he scanned the 'story' " _Bulgarian bon bon_ Viktor Krum."

"You could file a complaint. Pretty sure alluding to the sexuality of someone underage is probably some form of illegal."

"I could hunt down Rita Skeeter and feed her to a dragon? Far more satisfying."

Draco chuckled, then dropped his eyes under Hermione's hard stare and stirred his porridge some more. She turned said glare on to Vlad next, but Vlad returned his own look - innocent puppy eyes.

"Come on, I almost died yesterday. I don't need _this._ "

"Fine. No actual dragon-feeding though."

Vlad could have sworn Hermione actually mumbled "try thr skrewts instead" as she went back to generously slathering marmalade onto her toast. He couldn't be certain though.

"I like that there is barely a single mention of you actually doing the task here. Friends with a Bulgarian? Hot news. Almost dying on a transfigured rock floor to be eaten by a dragon? Not at all."

"Yeah, well, I'm alive. And Ingrid and Viktor are finding the story hilarious by the looks of it."

"Of course Ingrid does. I guarantee she asked him what a bon bon is though."

Chewing a mouthful of eggs, Vlad continued to scan the article. Thankfully there was no mention of his violent reaction to a potion, probably for the best since he vaguely remembered Viktor helping him sit up and holding a bucket for him. How **embarrassing.**

"Oh hold on, I didn't stop there apparently. You would think I noticed being the 'lothario' of the Tournament, because I'm also using Cedric to further my goals in it according to this."

Vlad could have killed Fred for his response to that - he leapt up onto his seat, calling over to the Hufflepuff table.

"Oi Ced, are you and Vlad a thing?"

The _entire_ Hall looked around to see the Weasley twin beaming for his mischief, and Cedric looked utterly bemused. Vlad was probably the most colourful he had ever been, face heating rapidly.

"Not last I checked."

"I read it in the _Prophet,_ are you saying this fine piece of news literature lied to me?"

He was still going to kill him, but at least Vlad understood now - he was helping discredit the article as a whole. He would kill him nice and quick, painless even. Or ask Ingrid to do it... somehow he suspected Fred would get a kick out of it.

"Mr Weasley! We do not shout uncouthly across the Great Hall!"

"But I just did!"

McGonogall, who had mysteriously appeared at the table amidst the hubbub, took in Vlad's face and the paper in front of him. The woman was fiercely intelligent, and Vlad knew the keen wit was working out exactly what happened. Fred thankfully got down after that, reducing the amount of people's staring.

"Yes, well, don't let it happen again. Five points."

Out of the corner of his eye, Vlad saw the five rubies drop _down_ into the hourglass bottom. Sneakily, she had given the Weasley twin points for protecting Vlad. Smiling to himself as he returned to his breakfast, he felt much better.

Getting dragged to another Champions meeting was not a highlight, although the four of them had a great laugh over the morning paper.

"Sorry Fleur, I guess Skeeter didn't think you were my type."

"I forgive you Vladimir."

"I'm just glad they didn't use a picture of my head on fire."

Cedric had a hat and some kind of thick lotion or ointment covering the scars, but they were almost gone and he was still smiling. The head teachers were at a loss as to how to deal with the close-knit group, who were generally expected by now to be wanting each others head on a stick. Or maybe that was just what his dad would have done... they should just want the other to lose.

"Can we get on? Mr Dracula's near death experience has proven the reason we placed an age limit on the Tournament in the first place!"

"I do _apologise_ for almost dying," Vlad hoped his sarcasm was thick enough " and like I said before - I didn't enter into this madness. What this proved was that whoever entered me really wants me dead!"

"Yet you still place joint first."

"Did I get bonus points for bleeding? I don't care about _winning_ this thing. Did you bring us here just to scold me for entering, or to subtly demand to know if this nonsense" Vlad held up the paper Draco kindly 'let' him keep "was true?"

Several adults looked rather uncomfortable, and Vlad knew he had hit home.

"It's not. That picture is of one friend trying to reassure another because we were about to get eaten alive."

"Ve champions are friends now, isn't that the point of the Tournament?"

"Zis meeting is a waste of time!"

"... What they said. Vlad didn't do anything wrong, and Rita Skeeter is well-reputed for making things up. In our interviews she said I was doing this to impress the Minister for Magic and get my dad a promotion. She called Fleur an airhead, and Viktor an attention junkie even though there was no guarantee he would be picked when you first turned up. Plus, Quidditch is a lot safer."

Clearly, this wasn't going according to plan for the teachers. Except maybe Tonks, who was almost deliriously happy to watch Vlad and the others irritate the more mature adults in the room. Ultimately, the meeting was ended by a very important matter - lunch.

"So, three months until the next task. However will we pass the time?"

Cedric shrugged, and they branched off for seperate tables at mealtime when they reached the Great Hall.

"How was your meeting?"

"Pointless. Surely they could have just asked outright if the paper was true. I was going to finish my Charms essay this morning."

"Vladimir Dracula everybody - gets mauled by a dragon"

"And sulks about not doing homework!"

"Fred, George. If you don't hush within three seconds I'm going to let Ingrid practice her hexes on you again. And this time I'll invite Ginny to help."

"Harsh Dracula"

"But fair. Come on George, there's a prank with our names on"

"And a future prefect or two watching us!"

Still slightly weakened from blood loss, Vlad felt a little tired but pushed the exhaustion away to go walking outside. Harry invited him to go see Samael with him, but was understanding that Vlad didn't _really_ fancy spending time with **another** mammoth reptile just yet.

"Nothing personal, I just think I need fresh air and not Basilisks."

"No problem. You gonna be alright on your own?"

"He vill not be alone, vorry not."

"Oh, hi Viktor."

If Vlad didn't know better - but sadly, he did - he would say Harry looked annoyed, maybe even jealous of Viktor coming to the rescue of Vlad's social plans for the afternoon. If only. They walked over to the Great Lake, sitting up against a tree and watching some first years throw leftover sandwiches to the giant squid.

"It is him, isn't it?"

"He's Harry Potter, if that's what you mean?"

"No, I meant" he stopped, checking they were quite alone before casting some sort of silence spell and Vlad felt his heart rate pick up "he's your... your mate. I told you Vlad, I find your kind fascinating."

"Don't be silly, a vampires mate is never"

"Human. I know. But he is Harry Potter, I can see magic making an exception for him. Besides, I vatch you all the time, and you don't light up for anyone the vay you do Harry."

"He's my best friend."

"Come on. I'm accepting I have no chance with you, the least you can do is tell me I'm right."

That made Vlad feel exceptionally guilty - he had been either oblivious or subconsciously but intentionally ignoring signs Viktor was interested, long too invested in his mate by now.

"Fine. But he has no idea, and I intend on keeping it that way."

"Vhy?"

"He's straight, he's not interested. Why would I destroy our friendship by telling him something that will only make things awkward?"

"I'm not so sure."

"What? Why?"

It was probably embarrassing how fast and easy Vlad switched to desperate for information, the slightest hint that someone saw something he didn't about Harry.

"He vas... unusually sore about some things. Like my presence in the Hospital Ving and the medical tent before him, and even earlier today I vould have said he seemed a tad jealous."

"He's protective of me, that's all."

"Humour me. My guess is you have never dated, because this kicked in rather early, yes?"

"Ok. I mean, yes."

"So, Harry has never seen you in a romantic context, because you've never been in one. How can you be sure about jealousy, if he hasn't had the cause to _be_ jealous?"

"Hold on, are you suggesting I date someone _just_ to find out if Harry's jealous? That's cruel, unfair and not to mention it won't work."

"It's not cruel if the other person is in on it? And I volunteer."

" _Why?_ "

His head was spinning a little by now. What in hell was going on?

"Because ultimately Vladimir, I vould like nothing more than to see you happy. And I reserve the right to say 'I told you so' vhen it does vork."

Vlad shouldn't be considering this. He knew Viktor was interested, and this would be so unfair on him. But he seemed genuine in his offer... No! Mentally scolding himself, Vlad pushed thoughts of accepting this insanity of an offer from his mind. Harry crept in, as he so often did, and Vlad couldn't help thinking of his facial expression shortly before. _**Was**_ _he jealous?_

"Are you sure about this? We're opponents, and just got done denying the papers this morning."

"Ve vill have to 'break up' before the second task, but I am confident it vill not take three months for Harry to notice you. Is that a yes?"

"Promise you'll say if this is too much for you? I don't want to hurt you."

"I promise. But vorry not, I'm really rather tough you know. I _am_ Bulgarian."

Chuckling, Vlad was still a little wary Viktor hoped to show Vlad was he was 'missing', but he seemed genuine, and if he knew as much as it seemed about magical vampires, or just vampire mates, he had to know it was basically impossible to draw attention away from a vampires mate. It was difficult even if the vampires in question wanted the bond _gone_ \- like Ingrid, who was doing a much better job of dealing with her instincts for Bertrand. And Vlad was looking.

"Fine, but no big public affection stuff. It may shock you to know I'm quite shy for a Gryffindor."

"I am three years your senior, I vill be the perfect gentleman."

This was _madness._

"Fancy a walk? I want to visit the Thestrals."

As the Bulgarian fell into step with a fond smile, Vlad wasn't sure what to think. He could always call it off. He should.

But.

What if it worked?

 _Yeah right._ How were three months any different to the last two years?

-YDHP-

 **hopefully this nice long chapter makes up for late updates and possibly terrible chapters in the past. Though personally I think they are all terrible, but you lovely readers keep me going!**


	41. Rushed Revelations

**YokaiAngel - I don't know that anybody else has ever called me spectacular, that made me smile!**

 **Guest - thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and no, I actually planned to write the whole second task from Harry's POV, so we can all appreciate how everybody else felt watching the top of a lake for an hour?**

 **I'm kidding, of course. Bats, how boring must that have been for the spectators? I envision Hermione being annoyed she couldn't spend it doing homework because she was floating down below! Ingrid might decide to start hexing fish to pass the time...**

 **TheSchimmer - you are very much forgiven! And I am so glad you enjoy the story, your review made me feel amazing.**

 **I lost two followers after the last chapter... was it really that bad?**

-YDHP-

"He almost died."

"But he didn't. You've both 'almost died' a few times in the last three years alone."

 _"That_ is not the point. He was nearly bleeding to death on the floor and nobody but Charlie went to help him!"

"Wizard, he is alright now. He's a vampire, he had significantly longer to survive blood loss than a human, and he got the help he needed. Focus on helping him prepare for future tasks, because this is only just getting started."

"Oh, that's real helpful. I want this damn thing to be over, I don't want him getting eaten by a dragon and being bosom buddies with the golden boy of a headmaster with a Dark Mark!"

Samael let out an amused hissing noise, using his tail to lift Harry and bring him closer. The matching temperature of scales on skin soothed some of his irritation, and Harry ended up taking off his shirt to luxury in the compatible sensations.

"I feel you may have a jealousy issue here."

"I'm **not** jealous! I just want Vlad to be safe from Karkaroff and Weasley."

"From what you have told me, the Durmstrang champion wants the same thing for Vlad. If anything, he's better equipped as he knows the people Vlad is at risk from.'

Harry could only glare irritably at Samael, which was probably ironic when one considers Samael and his species were known for their own fatal stare. The serpent didn't falter, shifting the part of his tail Harry was seated on to make him grab on for stability, then let out another amused hissing sound. Clearly his pet was in the mood to wind him up a little.

"You aren't helping."

"My advice is apparently going right over your head. Until you are receptive to the obvious solutions, I cannot _help."_

"Because you seem to think I'm avoidant of some secret crush on Vlad."

"My dealings of human emotions are admittedly narrow, but the two of you are clearly two halves of a whole. I don't know what a crush is, but you are certainly being avoidant of something."

Attempting to avoid his familiar bringing up his avoidance (Harry took a moment to grow irritated with the irony), he shifted to rest against the smoother scales below Samael's stomach.

"That doesn't mean we have to be romantically involved."

"Would that not be the logical extension of your friendship? Or is this down to the archaic notion of a male and female?"

"Are you _really_ giving me a lecture on acceptance of diversity?"

"No. Merely questioning if your resistance is because of Vlad's gender. Which is bizarre."

Sighing, Harry shook his head and contemplated leaving his annoying snake alone to get out of this conversation.

"You said yourself you don't breed in a conventional manner, so maybe you can't fully appreciate that the gender of your romantic partner can matter a great deal."

"That is an immensely juvenile attitude. If your only drawback on accepting this is your vampire being male, do you not think that in itself is ridiculous?"

The irritating thing was... Samael was _right._ If Vlad were female, by this point Harry probably would be at least considering the fact they were a compatible match. Still, Vlad was a **guy.** And that wasn't something he could just... _ignore._

"Maybe to you, but boys and girls are different. I can't suddenly be into guys."

"Forgive me for being indelicate, but are you referring to mating?"

Feeling his face flush, Harry buried his head in his hands.

"Merlin Samael, why not say it louder?"

"Wizard. Nobody but you, Lily and that little furball can understand me. And this capsule I reside in is soundproof."

Still blushing, Harry mumbled his response into his hands and just hoped the snake silenced.

"Ok, well just shut up then."

Samael continued to laugh at him in his light, rhythmic hisses - from what he understood of how Samael explained it, Harry could _learn_ to hear both the hissing and translation his mind automatically made, because his inability to differentiate meant he wouldn't know he or someone else wasn't speaking English. But he would need someone else on two legs who spoke both, and there were not exactly dozens of Parselmouths.

"Very well. Have your dreams continued?"

"Not much, but that's because I'm using the dreamless potion more often lately. The nightmares wear me down. Was there not a better way to pass on what you know about the past?"

"Potentially, but none quite so empathic. Part of you understanding where you came from is the feelings associated, but I cannot explain those to you as I lack human emotions. I apologise for causing you pain."

That last sentence melted any irritation Harry felt - Samael _did_ care, even if he wasn't sure how to. The basilisk closed his eyes when Harry placed his hands either side of the huge head, pressing his chest to the snakes snout.

"It's ok. It's not your fault you aren't human after all."

Comforted by his bond with the basilisk, Harry almost fell asleep like that. Samael was close to it too, so Harry sent him to his sleep room. He did follow, basking beneath the charmed heat lamp for a few minutes before he left. His cold-blooded tendency meant he didn't feel the cold much unless it was acutely freezing, but warmth on his skin was tantalizingly inviting all the same. He still had a lower tolerance for heat with his lower core temperature, but cooling charms often fixed that and Vlad always noticed when Harry looked uncomfortable.

Vlad noticed a lot actually... _stop it._ Samael and his armchair snake psychology often left Harry a little confused as he didn't have a serpentine thought process, and trying to tell Harry he was jealous when he worried about Vlad and Viktor Krum was his favourite topic lately. Could he not just be concerned about his best friend?

When the friend in question reappeared, he looked unsure about something. Harry watched as he dug through his bag for uncompleted essays and matching study material. What possessed Harry to say what he did next, he didn't know but he sort of wished he hadn't.

"Thought you exclusively studied with Krum in the library now?"

Vlad looked surprised, maybe even hurt.

"I uh, just got back from seeing him. He's gone to hang out with his friends, probably tell them about me I guess."

"Tell them what?"

His heart did a sort of twisting, painful spasm as Vlad looked around, checking they were alone still - Draco and Neville were with their girlfriend/sort of girlfriend respectively, and Seamus and Dean almost inevitably following the Beauxbatons girls around. It was a little creepy. He had a good guess what was coming.

"We uh, we're dating."

How Harry contained himself, he didn't know as the snake that coiled inside him at all times reared up, wanted to attack the threat on Vlad. He had never felt more part-basilisk than he had then, wanting to hiss and bite his target. None of that seemed to show on the outside, as Vlad was obviously waiting for a response.

"Oh. Are you allowed? I mean, he's older. And you're both champions."

"Huh. Didn't think of that. Nobody told us we couldn't date Fleur, and presumption of heterosexuality means I would have expected them to say something. As for age... I'm a vampire. I'll look younger than he does now until I'm sixty, and he's not much older than Ingrid. Besides, there's still arranged marriages in Hogwarts students, so I'm guessing it's not too big a deal."

Vlad's words didn't quite register to Harry, but he forced himself to reply before he had to go hide in the bathroom.

"Well then, good for you I guess."

He hoped Vlad's ability to hear his heartbeat didn't extend that far, and that safely hidden behind the bathroom door his friend couldn't hear the angry rhythm pounding in his chest. He stumbled to the toilet, flushed it to cover his need to hide and splashed cold water across his face over the sink. Staring into the mirror, Harry spied his slit-pupils and sharpened teeth, realised for the first time he could actually see the monster that lingered under his skin. Venom pooled in his mouth, spat out and rinsed away before anybody could see.

Wiping his face with a paper towel, Harry fished in his pocket for his glasses and placed the glamoured spectacles on his nose. The mirror reflected what everybody else would expect to see, and after a couple more minutes his muscles stopped shaking, his skin stopped feeling too tight.

Evidently concerned, Vlad gave him a searching look as he came back out of the bathroom. Harry maintained his outward calm, but his brain was a jumbled mess inside.

"Are you ok?"

"Fine. Just a thing Samael said can happen with growth spurts."

"So you're not... you don't hate me?"

 _Not you, him._

"Why would you think that?"

"Because... I guess I've never come out and said I'm gay before. I wasn't sure how you would take it."

 _Considerably better if it hadn't come with a boyfriend._

"I've lived with your gay vampiric tutor for ages. Why would it matter?"

"I guess because people have always said we're more than friends. I didn't want you to feel... I don't know. I should have given you more credit, I'm sorry."

 _We are._

"You're right, you should have. I need some air."

 _Damnit!_

Vlad called after him, but Harry had the Map in his pocket and checked the vampire was still in their dormitory when he got a few corridors away. He wished he had been checking closer to home when he found himself shoved into a wall roughly, glasses breaking like he was a child again - he hadn't bothered putting the unbreakable charm on it, in case he could _see_ the pale purple of it amidst the green glamour charm.

"Well well well, look what we have here."

Harry focused on keeping his eyes neutral for a second before he turned around holding the broken glasses - he had already recognised the voice. He hadn't expected the two hulking bodyguard students, brutish and thickset.

"Weasley, you aren't welcome in this school. Even your brothers and sister don't want you here. Get lost."

"And miss the chance to get you without your bodyguard?"

"Says the one not tough enough to corner me without two of your own. You're pathetic."

Ron bore little resemblance to the rest of his family, who were warm and happy people covered in freckles. His lack of sunshine in Bulgaria meant he was paler, hair a little darker and his mouth twisted into an ugly scowl.

"Oh, they have to accompany me everywhere since the Draculas tried to curse me."

"You were expelled for assaulting a student, if you can't take the retribution why come back only to hide behind them?"

Ron frowned, cold eyes flicking between Harry and his 'bodyguards'.

"Says the one who can't make a better friend than an untransformed vampire."

Growing irritated with their presence but trying to maintain his composure, Harry rolled his eyes. He would love nothing more than to hex Weasley to Hades and back and vent every bit of frustration over Vlad and Viktor out. It should worry him that his only hesitation was getting in trouble for doing too much damage.

"That _untransformed vampire_ still watched you nearly wet your pants, and broke your bones without magic. Pick on someone your own level Weasley... I think I saw a couple of spiders near you."

The scowling redhead practically threw himself against one of his bodyguards in a haste to get away, and Harry couldn't help succumbing to laughter. It was a mistake of sorts - when he realised he was being taunted, Ron forgot he was a wizard and launched himself angrily at Harry.

Harry reacted to defend himself on instinct at first, then realised Ron was nowhere near strong enough to actually fight him with his basilisk-infused strength. The redhead was clearly surprised by Harry's strength - he was filling out pretty well but had started from a very slight build, and didn't _look_ as powerful as he actually was.

Giving up on a physical victory, Ron pulled his wand. His henchmen followed suit, but they probably hadn't had battle training with Bertrand and were probably surprised when Harry had them all petrified and disarmed before any had picked a spell.

"I'm going to drop your wands over there, then unfreeze you. If you try this again I'll snap them and hand you over to the acromantula. Are we clear Weasley?"

They couldn't answer, but Harry tossed their wands over by the door and took a few steps back before he un-petrified them. Scrambling ungainly to their feet, he was met with multiple death glares.

"This isn't over Potter!"

He followed them on the Map until he saw them leave the castle to head for the Durmstrang ship, then spied _Viktor Krum_ literally in the lake. Was he _mad?_ It was **freezing** outside - even _Harry_ thought it cold.

Maybe he would freeze. Or get eaten by the squid...

Harry needed to get a handle on those mildly homicidal thoughts. It wasn't Krum's fault. Harry did have to admit something, at least to himself.

He **was** jealous.

* * *

"What in the name of all that is evil possessed you to go for a swim in the lake? It's almost frozen over!"

Viktor grinned, wrapping somehow non-frostbitten hands around his plastic mug of coffee. They were both up unreasonably late, sat out by said lake while most were sleeping. Viktor brought a thermos, and Vlad had some butterscotch sweets. It was relaxing, and pretty much the only time they were guaranteed alone without a fan coming to talk his 'boyfriend's' ear off about Quidditch.

"It is colder in Bulgaria. Besides, I love to swim. So relaxing."

"I'll take your word for it."

"You don't swim?"

"I _can't_ swim. Running water, remember?"

"Surely that doesn't affect you now?"

"No, but it means most of us never bother to learn."

Viktor nodded in understanding, staring out at the quiet ripples across the lake where the giant squid was stretching their tentacles.

"Did you tell him?"

It didn't need saying - had he told Harry about their 'relationship'?

"Yeah."

"And? How vas he?"

Vlad sighed, leaning up against the tree they sat beneath.

"It's hard to say. I feel like he was more upset with what I said than the fact itself."

"How do you mean?"

Vlad explained what excuse he had used - saying he was worried Harry would judge him for being gay.

"And then?"

"He left. Came back later totally fine really. So honestly, I think he was just upset I didn't think he would accept me."

Viktor hummed in thought, offering him the thermos to warm himself up. Taking a swallow, it wound through his body, hot brew and silky flavour. Vlad generally drank coffee functionally - if he needed the caffeine mostly. This particular one Viktor had was delicious though, some exotic flavour he picked up on his travels around the world for the Quidditch World Cup.

While he enjoyed talking about Quidditch, he also enjoyed talking about the places he had been and Vlad listened intently. He wanted to travel some day, see the world around him instead of being shackled by duty and darkness.

"I realise you vouldn't appreciate it, but the garlic in _real_ Italian food is something amazing."

"Why do you think there are so few biters in Italy? They visit for the culture maybe, but biting someone who's eaten garlic in the last twenty four hours can make them ill, and makes them smell less appealing anyway. Maybe I'll move there."

"You vant to make yourself sick?"

"No! I just... I never want to be tempted."

It wasn't Viktor's fault - Vlad had never been explicit about his aversion to his future as a vampire and particularly about drinking blood in the future.

"Ah. A veggie vamp? Or at least, a future vegetarian vampire?"

"I don't want to hurt people. Well, I don't want to bite them, some people I wouldn't _mind_ inflicting pain on."

The older teen actually laughed quite heartily, and Vlad was suddenly glad for his foresight of using silencing charms to reduce the chance they would be overheard.

"Vell, that's something. For a moment I thought there had been a mistake and you vere not really a vampire."

He gave his company a playful shove, then popped a sweet in his mouth and waited for Viktor to calm down.

"Vould it be presumptive of me to ask you to the Yule Ball?"

Vlad groaned - he was stuck at Hogwarts for the upcoming Christmas, unable to escape to Malfoy Manor where Harry was more comfortable and the whole holiday was a little more... enjoyable, really. Christmas day had been announced as the Yule Ball - a _dance._ As champions, they were obligated to attend.

"Only if you're prepared for the upheaval of a Champion taking an opposing Champion."

"Are ve staying a secret until then?"

"Oh, I hadn't really thought about it. I'm so used to only really telling Harry stuff, and since this isn't... you know-"

"Real?"

"I feel like that's a harsh way to put it. I'm still wrapping my head around the whole thing."

"I volunteered for this."

"That doesn't make it fair."

"Ve have had this debate. I asked if you vould accompany me to the ball?"

Vlad remembered the whole debate - the thestrals seemed very confused by the visitors who argued the ethics of their faked relationship.

"Uh, okay. I don't know how to follow though, my dance classes taught me to lead but you're a foot taller than me. Practical issues."

"You had dance classes?"

"Standard fare. Our race is big on fancy parties. Ingrid too. We agreed never to discuss it, I was rather graceless as a child and she hated being made to practice with me. Not least because of the whole gender roles nonsense vampires are still glued to."

"Ah, it's a compulsory class at Durmstrang from first to fourth year. Beauxbatons repeats it every single year until they graduate."

Viktor stopped and looked at his watch, squinting in the limited light.

"You should be getting back, it's late."

"I guess. You go ahead, no point walking me up only to walk back to the ship."

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm valking you to the castle."

His harsh features were offset by his gentle manner and friendly smile, making Vlad remember again that he had been so wrong about the Bulgarian before he met him. Contrary to his expectation of someone egotistical and full of himself, Viktor was kind and sweet, his outwardly reserved character melting to reveal a funny, animated and compassionate man. If he weren't totally Harry's for all eternity, he could definitely have done a lot worse than the seeker stood before him.

"Are you going to be alright walking back by yourself?"

"Of course. Nobody is out to get me, you're the danger magnet."

"I swear it's an accident. Mostly. Sometimes it's intentionally going after Harry."

They set off across the grass, snow was definitely on it's way but currently the ground was only a little damp as it whispered beneath their footsteps. Halfway along Vlad felt Viktor take his hand hesitantly. It was gentle and unobtrusive, and they were going to be holding each other a little closer for the Yule Ball - it was good practice really. His hand was larger, rougher than Harry's and he was so _warm,_ Vlad's latent vampirism and Harry's part-basilisk-ism meaning he had gotten used to mostly colder people.

All the same, it would be awkward if anybody saw them. Except they were going as each others 'date' to the Ball... Vlad should stop over thinking it all and just focus on not tripping over his own feet. They stopped near the doors, still mostly hidden in shadow and speaking quietly - it was well after Vlad's curfew.

"Well, this is me. And maybe a couple hundred other people. I'm in class most of tomorrow, so loitering in the library for me is pointless."

"Vorry not. I should get started on the egg. Goodnight Vlad."

His breath smelled like some strange American drink, sweet butterscotch and bitter coffee as he kissed Vlad's cheek. Feeling his face warm and ducking his head shyly, Vlad could only nod and mumble something similar before he disappeared into the castle. Nobody was in the Entrance Hall, so he was safe to vanish into a secret passage and eventually creep into Gryffindor tower. Everybody was asleep as he slowly disappeared into the bathroom, eyeing his reflection.

His cheeks were still a little pink, but Vlad blamed that on the climbing stairs and quickly changed into his pyjamas, then made it into his bed with nobody any the wiser - assuming they hadn't noticed his bed was empty. Phantom woke just to lick his eyeball, then padded about before settling on his stomach and promptly dropping back to sleep.

"Where did you get to last night Vlad? You weren't here by curfew."

Still rubbing sleep out of his eyes, Vlad shrugged and muttered an on-the-spot response to Draco.

"Fell asleep in the library."

"Nerd."

"Have you _heard_ that egg screeching? I was trying to work out what on earth could make such a noise. Must have gotten a little absorbed."

Vlad wished he hadn't bothered lying by the time they got to breakfast. At first he just glanced towards Ingrid, who gave him a knowing look - she was sat opposite Viktor, could likely have picked up stray thoughts about last night via telepathy. Viktor himself looked a little unsettled, but Vlad wasn't sure if that wasn't because Harry was stood next to him.

Sitting in their usual spots, Vlad reached for a cup of tea and some toast. It was then he realised something was up - strange looks, whispers and many a student poring over the morning paper. Draco held his up, and for a minute Vlad thought it was an old edition as he saw that damned picture of Viktor with a hand on his shoulder. It took a second, and Harry dropping his spoon to splatter blueberry jam across the table, to realise the headline was different.

 _Secret Champions Kiss!_

"Something you want to tell us Vlad? Or was library a code?"

Vlad apologised for snatching the paper as he did it, Harry leaning over to read it alongside him.

 _This astute reporter has stayed on the story! Rita Skeeter can confirm that Durmstrang Champion Viktor Krum and Hogwarts alleged cheat-surplus-champion Vladimir Dracula were seen sharing a romantic moment!_

It got worse from there, speculating that Vlad was doing it as a way to ensure he won the tournament and if that failed, that the likely future move would be seducing Cedric to at least allow him to be the top Hogwarts contender. It _did_ mention the kiss was on his cheek, but literally at the end when everybody would already be frothing at the mouth over the story.

"Is she lying?"

"Are you dating Viktor Krum?"

"I knew he was _different._ "

The aspersions on sexuality bothered him least, because it wasn't a lie and he wasn't ashamed of it. He wasn't sure how Viktor felt about being outed, but then he had asked him to the Yule Ball so it would have come out eventually.

No, the **worst** of it was Harry's look of betrayal. Because Vlad wasn't denying it, but he hadn't told Harry. His friend was intelligent enough to connect the dots. Before he could even try to come up with some kind of response, for anybody, a shadow fell across his barely touched meal.

"Mr Dracula, a word?"

Fighting the natural instinct to hide from Professor McGonogall and her stern glare, Vlad swallowed the toast lodged in his suddenly dry mouth. Taking a quick sip of tea and spying Karkaroff acquiring Viktor across the hall, Vlad stood.

"Sure."

The gossiping grew louder, undoubtedly encouraged by the _really bloody obvious_ part where the teachers removed the students plastered across the front page. He couldn't help being warmed a little as Viktor stood solid at his side the second they were chaperoned into a side room.

"What now?"

"Explain this!"

Karkaroff got a little too close for Vlad's liking, backing off suddenly when Vlad hissed in warning - a trick learned from Ingrid. Not that he would be telling her it worked. Vlad turned to Viktor, who shrugged - it was Vlad's choice apparently.

"We were out together last night. Not the point. Skeeter is banned from the grounds except for tasks. How did she find out? There was nobody else around."

McGonogall actually heard him for what he said, but Karkaroff was clearly still on the 'secret kiss' problem.

"You're certain you were not being watched? Followed?"

"Positive. And my senses are better than most. Only a biter or a Bulgarian could stand to be out in the cold anyway, and it was after... nothing."

"Vladimir, I am already aware this took place after curfew. Line twelve."

Scanning the article currently crushed in his fist, Vlad scowled.

"I want an explanation Viktor!"

"I do not need to justify my personal relationships to you Headmaster."

"You realise this is a most unusual circumstance Vladimir?"

"I'm presuming that means there is no actual rule against two champions dating, and despite his dislike for me Karkaroff can't do anything about it?"

Perhaps he shouldn't be antagonizing one professor in front of another, but Vlad half-hoped the man would crack and do something Vlad was justified in attacking him in retaliation for. _He_ was the one who brought Weasley along, after all.

"Mind your manners Vladimir, but you are correct in that there's no rule against it. One would hope you maintain a healthy rivarly for the tournament however."

"Understood Professor. Is that all?"

As soon as they were out, Vlad set fire to the newspaper in his hand, tossing it aside and waving a hand half-heartedly at it to extinquish the fire.

"That vas impressive."

"Oh, yeah. Don't tell anyone. I want to know how that woman got that story. We were definitely alone outside."

The onslaught of questions, comments and outright verbal abuse was endless all day. Vlad took to hiding in Bertrand's quarters just for a _break._ The vampire tutor in question seemed highly amused - of all people, he certainly knew _something_ was going on.

"So, care to explain?"

"Are we alone?"

"Who do you think I may have hoarding away in my quarters?"

"Just checking. The short version is... Viktor offered to be my fake boyfriend to make Harry notice me. I say offered, what I mean is he talked me in to it. Because I don't think it'll work, but he asked for three months. It's only been a week."

"What does he gain from this?"

"Uh. Aside from time with me, which is obviously no real prize... He gets to say 'I told you so' if it works. Because for some unfathomable reason, he's convinced Harry likes me but doesn't realise it. Personally? I think it's madness, but since waiting and hoping has gotten me nowhere, I figured I have nothing to lose."

"Intriguing."

Rolling his eyes, Vlad flipped through the book he was supposed to be studying for next years blood test from. An idea formed in his mind as he reached the chapter on powers.

"Bertrand. Do you think..."

"Frequently."

"Hilarious. Do you think it's possible to replicate any of these with spells? I was thinking if I could learn some of them and do them silent and wandless, I can always make someone question their vampire knowledge of when we come into our powers."

Bertrand took the book, scanning down the page and nodding to himself here and there.

"Interesting thought. Off the top of my head? I only know of a spell to replicate one of these, but I can do some research."

"Alright, which one?"

Training was rarely something he did voluntarily, but _anything_ to take his mind off the morning paper.

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"I'm the ideal test dummy. I don't need to breathe."

Shaking his head, Vlad aimed his hand at Bertrand - he had increasing amounts of control over his lacking need for a wand.

" _Constrictus!_ "

For dramatic effect he clenched his fist like a hand holding closed an airway - the intent of the spell. It required good aim and focus, and given it's lethality Vlad didn't expect anyone else at Hogwarts to offer to teach him the spell. It's original, intended use had been (according to Bertrand) to suffocate rapid-growing plants at the root, but somewhere along the lines it had gotten... sidetracked.

Bertrand clutched his throat, face contorting in pain until Vlad cancelled the spell.

"It worked then?"

"Indeed. Mind your force, any tighter and I would have had to recover from a crushed larynx."

"You _did_ volunteer."

"So I did. Again."

Slightly exhausted and rather hungry after missing lunch **and** dinner, Vlad meandered to Gryffindor Tower before escaping to the sanctity of the dormitory.

"See! I said he was a fairy-boy."

Still not quite in the mood for antagonizing, Vlad scowled instead.

"Go away Seamus."

"Yeah, if Vlad wants to date guys he can."

"What Neville said. Besides, he's dating an international Quidditch player. I don't see why you're worried he's going to fancy you."

"Draco, you can be quiet too."

His words to the blond were far less harshly toned, and Draco smiled to say he knew that even as he fell silent. Vlad changed quickly in the bathroom, then sat heavily on his bed and dug in his bag for some leftover snacks. Harry was still silent, making him feel like slime for putting that look on his friends face. If he thought too hard about how _he_ was responsible for upsetting his mate Vlad might consider pitching himself out of the window.

As everyone started falling asleep for the night, Vlad sat staring at his vial of sleeping draught - he doubted he was going to get any sleep without it. He was almost decided to take it when his bedcurtains twitched, Harry slipping between them to perch on the end of his bed.

"I have to tell you something."

-YDHP-

 **This chapter kept getting longer and longer. I am not entirely sure where all the extra length _is,_ but hey lookie a chapter!**


	42. Misfires Rebound

**BlueAutumn12 - thank you! Updates are (usually) weekly, but I tell ya it doesn't seem long enough when you're writing!**

 **It's funny how I used to call Chosen Two a temporary title, but honestly now I couldn't imagine calling this story anything else. Except maybe "how dense can Harry be?" but then I can't help loving that about him.**

-YDHP-

"I have to tell you something."

His muscles were still shaking with the nightmare, watching Weasley crumple beneath the cruciatus curse.

 _"I told every one of you not to interfere, didn't I?"_

 _Stammering through the torture tremors, Ron nodded._

 _"I-I-I didn't. I o-only went a-a-after P-p-potter. You want the v-vampire."_

 _"_ _ **Crucio!**_ _"_

 _He held the curse longer, almost too long before letting up. Karkaroff was nearby, watching dispassionately as his student was tortured._

 _"The vampire is the key. He has survived thus far... My test of him is successful thus far. Leave he and the Krum boy be Karkaroff, we wouldn't want it slipping out that_ _ **you**_ _entered the boy into the tournament now would we?"_

 _"You never said it was just to test him, I must confess I hoped it would be the end of him. You understand, I must maintain the air of expectation on my own champion."_

 _Karkaroff was a coward, through and through, but years of dealing only with irritating teenagers meant he was more sure of himself than he had a right to be. Voldemort raised his wand, concentrating the torture curse next on the headmaster._

"Uh, ok. What?"

Part of Harry wanted to say he was jealous and hated seeing Vlad with Krum, but he couldn't summon the venom needed - Vlad was already handing him the potion he kept specifically for Harry's cruciatus dreams.

"I know why you were put in the tournament."

"I'm gonna assume you had a dream about it, not that you've been hoarding information since before I almost got eaten by a dragon?"

Feeling the pain reliever work through his weak, shaky muscles, Harry nodded. He was being _mostly_ truthful - he had only had one questionable dream before he really understood it all.

"Karkaroff entered your name, thinking it was to get you out of the way. But Voldemort wanted you tested."

"Tested? Tested for _what?_ "

"No clue. He didn't" Harry couldn't help stopping to yawn "say. I just wanted to tell you in case I forgot."

Harry made to leave, but Vlad grabbed his wrist and looked at him in confusion.

"You always stay when you have a nightmare."

"I don't think your boyfriend would appreciate it."

Vlad's brow creased further, as though Harry had spoken a foreign language. In the wand light, Vlad looked even younger, softer and something about it twisted in Harry's stomach.

"Anyone who tells me I can't take care of my best friend isn't worth my time. If you want to stay, stay."

Feeling his body cry out for sleep loud enough to drown out the rational part of his brain, Harry could only nod and shift to lie down. Vlad shifted around a little himself, then his breathing evened out as he drifted off and sleep overcame Harry too.

When he woke, Vlad was silently watching him sleep with much-too-alert eyes for the early hour he could feel in his tired muscles. He was staring quite intently at his eyes, Harry noticed, the gaze eerily penetrating through him.

"What?"

Merlin, his voice was rough this early.

"Nothing... I just noticed your eyes are always snakey when you first wake up. Might be something to consider for any potential relationships in the future, because otherwise it might be a surprise."

For a brief, heart-stopping instant, Harry had a thought of how Vlad already knew, and he wouldn't have to hide if it were him. Then he mentally shook himself and moved from his sleep-creeping position with his head and arm across Vlad's chest. Vlad held out his hand, the _tempus_ charm creating a floating representation of the time.

"Barely six. You can go back to sleep if you like, but nobody else is awake yet."

"How do you know?"

Vlad grinned, tapping the top of his ear.

"Vampire remember. You up or not?"

"Mmm. Not really, but I'm a little hungry so I think early breakfast it is."

Vlad chuckled, leaving first to be certain they wouldn't be caught before sliding the curtain aside for Harry to follow. Draco was dead to the world - the full moon was close, he got exhausted easily for a few days, but then became restless and tense the last day or two either side of the full. However, between the wolfsbane potion Ingrid brewed, the regiment of healing afterward and a relentless patient support from his girlfriend, Draco was currently unscathed from his monthly transformations thus yet - the only mark he bore was his bite scar that resisted all healing attempts.

The content, relaxed snake coiled inside Harry's chest reared and hissed when Harry saw Viktor Krum was awake and in the Great Hall too, and he smiled at Vlad like he was the world... he had to stop being jealous, Vlad _deserved_ someone who saw him like that. He should want that for his best friend. Scratch that, Harry _did_ want that for Vlad. Now the bat was out of the bag, as Vlad called it after that news article, they were at least not bothering trying to dissuade the story.

"Good morning."

"It is now I've seen you."

Vlad flushed, and Harry tried to suppress a groan at the 'line' the Bulgarian had just used.

"Were you always this cheesy and I only just noticed?"

"Perhaps you bring it out in me."

For a guy who usually looked like he had chewed a sour lemon, Krum lit up like a Christmas tree when Vlad smiled at him, looking relaxed and genuinely happy to see the vampire. Luckily for the angry snake roiling jealously in Harry's chest, Krum only gave Vlad a hug before they seperated for breakfast - Vlad to Gryffindor, his _boyfriend_ to Slytherin. Where he sat every day, protecting Ingrid from having that slimy redhead and had done since day one... his jealousy was tinged with shame then, Viktor Krum had done **nothing** wrong.

The most friendly face at the Gryffindor table this early in the day was George Giles, currently pouring strawberry jam and chilli sauce onto her almost-Harry-potion-sized waffles.

"I'm used to seeing Vlad at this time occasionally, but not you unless its Quidditch and there's no Quidditch this year. So. What are you doing up mister Potter?"

Somehow, answering with "I was asleep on top of Vlad and woke up when he did" didn't _quite_ seem like an appropriate answer. Harry shrugged, pulling the full tray of breakfast meats nearer to pile his plate and feed his basilisk-sped-growth some more.

"I wake up this early sometimes, but I silence my bedcurtains so I never heard Vlad get up before. Forgot last night."

Chewing some of her spicy-strawberry abomination, George tilted her head in confusion.

"Why would you silence curtains? Do they talk to you?"

"No, but you have _no_ idea how loud Seamus snores. It's been standard practice since first year."

"Bella talks in her sleep. This morning it was random foodstuffs, she started with apples and was chatting about donuts by the time I left." She stopped to take a swig of tea, wiping her mouth hastily before turning to Vlad. "So, do I get the early bird gossip on your beau or not?"

"My _bow?"_

"B-e-a-u. Means boyfriend. That big Bulgarian making eyes at you from across the hall. Matthew is so jealous, because he knows you aren't that in to Quidditch so you won't be getting all the details of how he flies so well and stuff."

Vlad shrugged, chewing his hot sauce covered omelette - a considerably more normal meal choice than George had in front of her.

"Matthew could talk to him himself. Viktor doesn't mind talking about Quidditch... hell, he could talk about it for days, but mostly he just wants to be treated like a person. That's why he sits with Ingrid, she's refreshingly uninterested in his celebrity status apparently."

"And a great way to get info on you before he made a move I bet. Oh, don't look at me like that, no way did _you_ go and make the first move."

Vlad practically scowled, but Harry absolutely agreed with George's approximation of Vlad's character.

"The only thing he said Ingrid told him about me is that I'm a dweeb. And that I like pumpkin juice, but anybody could have told him that."

George chuckled, moving on to some concoction involving sausages and crushed raspberries... Harry dropped his eyes to his own plate, biting viciously at some black pudding as he listened to Vlad talk about the boyfriend Harry had no _valid_ reason to dislike. He didn't own Vlad, had zero entitlement to dictate who he dated. It was just tough to face amongst his ever-confusing feelings that kept shifting back and forth like a ship on turbulent waters.

"Speak of the devil and she shall appear."

Ingrid - with the usual assortment of Slytherin boys following her around - arrived to breakfast, giving a short nod of acknowledgement to her little brother before taking her usual seat opposite the world famous seeker. Some of the novelty had apparently faded, as Vlad mostly got to eat in peace for the morning.

What nobody was expecting was the _post._

Vampires generally repelled owls, as proved by Hedwig who spent most of her time visiting Hermione these days to avoid Vlad. So it spoke to the sheer volume of people who had sent mail both to Vlad and his new boyfriend - dozens of owls, multiple bright red envelopes that Vlad quickly pulled out of the table and verbally cast a silencing charm over them.

"Howlers. Leave them, they'll shout about something then set themselves on fire."

Vlad nodded when George and her friends asked if they could help, and breakfast became a highly amusing exchange of reading letters ranting at Vlad for daring to steal the attentions of the seeker after cheating his way into the tournament to begin with. The howlers detonated themselves after a few minutes vibrating against the silencing charms, then became nothing but little piles of smouldering ash.

"How do you silence a howler? I thought the whole point was they resisted that charm."

"They do, the trick is to silence around them so the sound escapes, but is blocked. Plus most people panic, trying to get away with it before anyone hears."

"I don't know if I'm offended or not. You got more letters than I did."

Vlad twisted to find the subject of said letters behind them, smiling in amusement as they ploughed through it. Harry spotted Vlad checking Ingrid hadn't been left unattended with a quick glance before engaging his boyfriend in conversation.

"True, but I bank on your letters being friendlier and offers to replace me."

"Perhaps. Your sister set light to them as they vere in the vay of the food she vanted."

"Sounds like Ingrid. You could have lost an offer from the man of your dreams."

Viktor chuckled, wrapping an arm around Vlad that Harry had a momentary desire to break.

"Actually, most vere from females hoping to 'convert' me. It vas quite peculiar."

Every eye in the Great Hall was on the two, including glares from Karkaroff that made Harry want to poke out his eyes with Samael's teeth. When Weasley got up with his usual bodyguards, Harry wondered how they had crept off the grounds with nobody noticing - there were supposedly security charms on the gates to prevent students just vanishing.

Though as Rita Skeeter had broken into the school after being banned... and then there were the Weasley twins trips to raid sweet shops, Vlad and Ingrid's daytrips to Hogsmeade simply because Ingrid enjoyed breaking the rules, maybe that security was _implied_ more than reality.

"I gotta go, some of us actually have classes to take."

"Indeed. I vill see you later."

"Unless you get swept away by more romantic offerings. Come on Harry, we've got Potions."

A tiny, vindictive part of Harry was happy Vlad had to leave his boyfriend to go with Harry - even if it was for a Potions class. He didn't quite enjoy watching Viktor smile and squeeze Vlad's hand all that much, even as he reminded himself he was supposed to be happy for his friend. It was much easier to calm himself when it was just he and Vlad again.

"What do the students from the other schools _do_ all day?"

"Uh, they have some daily assigned study time so they don't fall behind before their end of year exams, they're free to sign out and go to Hogsmeade and obviously they can explore Hogwarts. Viktor has to work on his egg too. We agreed not to talk about the tournament, though I doubt anybody believes us about that."

Harry believed him, purely because he trusted Vlad not to be using Krum for the Triwizard Tournament as many suspected - Vlad just wanted to get the thing done with, he wasn't interested in winning. Spying a noticeboard with a flyer about the Yule Ball, Harry grit his teeth.

Not only were they stuck in a full school for Christmas instead of the calm, no-hiding Malfoy Manor, he would have to watch Vlad and Krum together. He considered leaving for Malfoy Manor anyway, but Vlad would be hurt - they had spent every Christmas together since first year. He couldn't just _abandon_ Vlad because he was jealous, much as it sounded appealing to not see them together.

* * *

Vlad hated publicity and everything it stood for at that moment, when a huge mountain of hate mail filled the Gryffindor table that morning. It just solidified that damn newspaper article, and Vlad now heavily suspected a repeat performance when he and Viktor inevitably broke up - first he was to blame for 'stealing' him, and would undoubtedly be vilified for 'breaking his heart' afterwards.

All in all, it was immensely relieving to escape to Potions with Harry, who seemed unsure whether to be angry on Vlad's behalf about the post that morning. Vlad wasn't offended by the actual mail itself, just the excessive attention garnered by a news article that should by right have never have been written - Rita Skeeter shouldn't have had _any_ knowledge of Vlad and Viktor being out that night.

"Cease your gossiping, the only relationships that matter in my classroom are the ones between ingredients! Now, let's begin on these elemental potions. Oh, I do enjoy making these."

Moonshine was utterly bonkers, but Vlad liked how he had zero time for nonsense like gossip without losing his zeal and sparky excitement for his work. There was a surge of nostalgia for the elemental potions, remembering how they had been a 'challenge' down below the trap door first year. Before he knew Harry was his mate, before all the complications and when they were _just_ best friends.

Now... now Hermione was shooting them a knowing grin across the workdesk opposite as they remembered the chaotic circumstances in which they first encountered these potions, and Harry was beautiful and perfect and it made Vlad **ache** inside.

"Observe."

Using a large glass tank, and a small pipette to dispense minute amounts, Professor Moonshine demonstrated how each of the potions worked, then set them dissecting the potions themselves - what ingredients gave the volcanic lava it's heat, it's consistency? What determined how powerful a quake?

Automatically, Vlad picked out likely candidates for the lava potion as they were known for their exothermic reactivity, or natural heat tendencies like capsicum. Harry was the one to spot the more explosively reactive ingredients in the earthquake potions, and Vlad felt his heart skip a little at his happy smile.

"Well, we've always made a good team."

"Mhmm."

Feeling the subtle brush off like a knife to his gut, Vlad tried to push aside the upset and focus on ice potions. Professor Moonshine asked him to stay behind, which won him multiple confused looks but Vlad had no clearer an idea why than anybody else.

"Did I do something wrong professor?"

"What? Oh no, of course not. Madam Pomfrey already warned young Mister Malfoy, and now I'm warning you that our double lesson next week will include studying" he leaned closer, looking even more ravaged with his scarred, uneven skin up close to whisper dramatically " _transylvanian wolfsbane._ It's your choice whether to defer to your tablemate or to skip the class altogether."

"Is Draco skipping?"

"He must. You may be alright simply avoiding touching it, but the proximity alone could give him cold sweats! Oh, I fear the symptoms could out him!"

Moonshine waved a flamboyant hand, then pressed it to his chest as he exclaimed concerns. Nodding to himself as he considered it, Vlad knew it would be less suspicious if it was construed to be intentional.

"Alright, I'll let Harry know he's working with Hermione that class. Maybe you could say you assigned me and Draco to something else that day, so it's not suspicious?"

"Yes. Yes. I could do that! Very well, off with you to your next class."

Bemused as the professor shooed him away with a hand missing a slice on one side, Vlad left to find Hermione and Draco waiting for him.

"Was that what I think it was about?"

"If you mean our special project next week, which means Hermione and Harry need to pair up, yep."

Draco nodded, and Hermione's expression said she already knew all about it - possibly with her psychic teacher knowledge.

"Harry left to go see Hagrid, because he reckoned you would be spending your free periods with the Bulgarian bon bon. Ok, he said your boyfriend, but that's the funniest thing Rita Skeeter ever said."

Draco mistook Vlad's scowl for what he referred to Viktor as, and Vlad realised by the sudden enlightened look on Hermione's face that she knew there was more than just what met the eye in his and Viktor's relationship.

"You need to go see Madam Pomfrey for your potion. Vlad can walk me out to Hagrids, since it's by the ship."

Neither boy was about to argue with her, so they seperated at the main doors to head out for break. November chill meant it was only sparsely populated outside, most in the warmth of the Great Hall or their common rooms.

"I didn't click until just now, but _please_ tell me you aren't leading him on?"

Vlad was torn between guilt and indignation at that - he wasn't, but that didn't make the situation right.

"No. The whole thing was his idea, I swear. He thinks" Vlad stopped, casting a privacy charm lest any nearby students were eavesdropping "he thinks Harry just needs to realise his own feelings about me. I think he's mad, but he insisted."

Hermione rolled her eyes, sighing before giving Vlad a hug.

 _"Boys!_ "

"Careful, or there'll be stories about a torrid love affair between us next."

"I think Draco will believe me when I say it's all lies. He never has to know!"

They both burst out laughing as they made it to Hagrid's hut, where Hagrid waved at them to come in. Vlad deliberated - he did want to go talk to Viktor about Harry, but the hut was warm, inviting and he enjoyed seeing Hagrid - and Harry would be there.

Except it also contained Cedric Diggory, who greeted him perfectly cordially.

"Oh look, it's the one I intend to steal from 'Bulgarian bon bon Viktor Krum'. How are you Vlad?"

"Don't tell everyone!"

Vlad managed to continue the joke, though he was twisting inside as Harry picked right back up on his obviously interrupted conversation with Cedric about the fire crabs Hagrid had hatched that week for the third years taking Care Of Magical Creatures. He couldn't keep watching, but if he left Harry might see it as Vlad ditching him for Viktor. Which was bad. Sighing, he accepted the bucket of tea Hagrid offered him and sank into the chair nearest the fire.

"At least you can tell which end of a fire crab is which straight away! With the skrewts it takes a few weeks guess work or serious burns."

"Ah, they aren' tha' bad!"

Hagrid defended his bizarre 'pets' that were becoming more lethal every week as the males stingers started to develop. Vlad was about to judge him, then remembered he had helped Harry smuggle a basilisk into Hogwarts... Maybe he shouldn't judge.

"Are you and Krum going to the Yule Ball together?"

"Well, yeah. Sorry Cedric, missed your shot."

"Damnit. I was just wondering, because four champions but it'll only be three couples. I still have to find a date... maybe I'll ask Fleur and make a bigger splash."

Vlad shook his head, trying to balance his mug while Fang tried to place his huge head in Vlad's lap.

"She's going with Roger Davies. Told me when I hid in the- I mean saw her in the library yesterday."

"Curses, foiled again. Harry, how about it?"

Vlad was glad he had the excuse of Fang when he dropped his cup in shock, Hermione not stunned inarticulate as she cleaned up the ceramic and liquid mess across the floor and Vlad's leg.

"Yeah, alright then."

-YDHP-

 **Shorter than last chapter but it's bridging, I guess?**


	43. Yule Ball

**Guest - I can only completely agree, but then neither of our boys are perfect! Teenage boys eh?**

 **Second guest reviewer - Without giving much away, Snape isn't going to be around for a while, but I promise he's not forgotten! And I don't think Vlad harbors any resentment toward Harry about Remus (though he doesn't have much love for Remus himself), because he knows Harry just desperately wanted the connection to his parents... although Susan could be a different matter.**

-YDHP-

Cedric looked a little surprised, though not nearly as surprised as Harry felt - he didn't expect the yes to come out, but a vindictive part of him wanted to see Vlad react to him answering. Aside from Fang knocking his tea cup over, Vlad didn't seem even mildly perturbed.

"Wait, really? I mean i waa kidding, but if you're game I am."

"Sure. Saves me finding a date too."

Vlad was paying more attention to cleaning up the spilled tea. That told Harry all he needed to know - Vlad _wasn't_ jealous of the idea Harry was going with Cedric. A voice cut through any tension from outside.

"Hold on. Yeah, he's in here. Oi Vlad, your man is out here."

Draco's head poked through the door, gesturing behind him to where Vlad's eyes went to, and it didn't take long before Vlad was making his excuses to Hagrid and leaving. Harry watched after them, not noticing until Fang shoved a drooling head into his lap to break his reverie.

"Not happy breaking Vlad's cup, you want to break mine too?"

Fang grumbled, then hummed a little when Harry scratched behind his ear. Hagrid grabbed him and dragged the mutt away, ordering him to his huge bed in the corner instead. Cedric seemed relatively chilled out considering everything, but then he wasn't privy to Harry's inner turmoil.

Cedric had a class to get to, and asked Harry to walk with him. When they left the hut, Vlad and Krum were nowhere to be seen. Turning his attention to his soon-to-be date, Harry realised he was talking.

"So, can you dance?"

"Not really. But I think we have to have a class on it. You can right?"

"Mhmm. My dad works for the Ministry, so I have been going to family functions since I was about seven. Just try not to stand on my feet and we'll be fine."

Harry nodded as they reached the doors, checking the time and deciding he didn't have enough of it to go see Samael before he had a class himself. Cedric waved and left for Charms, and Harry figured he could go for a quick trip to the kitchens before he made for Defence.

Life seemed a little better with three bacon sandwiches and some orange juice in him, even if Harry now realised that the assumption was going to be he was dating Cedric. He was _less_ perturbed by the notion many would assume he had been lying about being straight than he thought, but _very_ concerned Cedric might think they were going on a real date. With any luck, they could clear that up before the dance. Not that it was far away now.

If Vlad was at all bothered by Harry agreeing to go with Cedric, there was absolutely zero sign of it in class. He was all smiles and studious nature as ever, even asked Harry how his animagus work was going over homework.

"I uh, I've been slacking on it actually. Don't tell Hermione. I'll work on it over Christmas. How are you and the egg?"

He was _babbling_ \- if Vlad had solved the egg, Harry would know about it.

"Still . Tough to work on something that makes you want to remove your eardrums with a spoon just to make the noise stop. Sorry, that was Ingrid's description."

"You went to Ingrid for help?"

"No. Bertrand asked to see it, and Ingrid doesn't ask for permission. She opened it anyway. Regretted it _instantly,_ but she opened it."

Chuckling, Harry shook his head as he finished a line on his essay and dropped his quill with a flourish.

"I never thought I would say this, but Tonks set dull homework."

"Wait, you mean you aren't secretly a die hard fan of correct duelling etiquette?"

Flicking a bit of parchment at Vlad, Harry grinned when Vlad glared.

"Ha ha. No. I know this must be on the exams, but damn it's boring."

"Beats _dancing_ lessons."

"You can dance already."

Vlad shrugged, checking a fact in his book before pulling out the measuring tape for their 'twelve inches on etiquette' essay.

"The class is still mandatory. I bet Ingrid just hexed Moonshine to get out of Slytherin dance."

Snorting as he imagined Professor Moonshine asking Ingrid to volunteer, Harry felt the elephant in the room rear it's head for a moment - they _hadn't_ talked about the Yule Ball itself yet. Apparently Vlad felt it too, finally breaking the silence.

"I'm surprised you agreed to go with Cedric."

"Why? It's not a date."

He didn't mean to sound defensive, and Vlad visibly flinched before he controlled it. He spoke more softly after, almost silently.

"I didn't mean that. I meant because the champions have to open the dance, and you don't like being the centre of attention."

"Oh. Right. Fair point, but I tend to get attention anyway. At least Cedric signed on for that by asking me."

Vlad nodded quietly, apparently nervous to upset Harry again. Feeling guilty, Harry checked nobody was looking and reached to squeeze Vlad's wrist, feeling relieved when Vlad turned his hand to squeeze back at Harry's.

"Sorry. I think I'm just used to arguing with everyone else, normally with us we just joke about it."

And Harry regretted that so much now - how could he risk bringing up confusing feelings with Vlad? He would just think it was another joke, and Harry couldn't bring himself to be laughed at.

"It's alright. I didn't think you were harbouring a secret crush on Cedric Diggory."

"How do you know? I totally could have."

Vlad tipped his head, giving Harry an intense stare. The dark blue eyes bored through him, making Harry feel a little stripped-back.

"Nah, I think I know you too well."

If he did, Vlad would know Harry was having a mild crisis of emotions. And somehow, Harry doubted Vlad could see that.

"If you say so."

They resumed homework quietly, but much less tense than before. They hadn't addressed much, but at least they weren't avoiding the topic.

Hermione, on the other hand, was very much _on_ the topic. Harry asked her to say nothing to anyone else who didn't already know, because he didn't want to go through what Vlad had with the whole revelation thing. It was selfish, he knew. Cedric had said he was only going to tell his friends he had a date, not who, and was a mix of amused and excited about the dramatic impact they would make.

"Harry, I love you dearly and you and Vlad are my best friends, but what on _earth_ are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

Shaking her head, Hermione stole Harry's sandwich - gaining his full attention as he was hungry. Vlad and Draco were in the hospital wing - it was the full that night, and Vlad was getting a check up on his chest scar - and they were out by the owlery, having just visited a cheery Hedwig.

"I mean, you have spent years making it sound like the idea you and Vlad were together was a bad thing. Now you're perfectly fine with everyone being likely to assume you're dating Cedric?"

"But I'm not dating Cedric - ow!"

Hermione swatted the back of his head, still holding his food hostage.

"That's not my point. My point is, how do you think that makes Vlad feel?"

"You think he's jealous?"

He had to duck to dodge another smack - Draco was lucky he was hard-built thanks to his lycanthropy, as Hermione was liberal with the potential attacks.

"No! I think he might be upset though. You picked fights at the idea you were dating him, but didn't hesitate to agree when it was Cedric. So either you're gay and haven't told Vlad - yes, I know he did the same with Viktor, but he's an idiot! Or you aren't, but somehow Vlad was a worse choice for people to think you're dating than Cedric."

"Has Vlad _said_ he's upset? And can I have that back? I need to eat regularly."

Hermione finally relinquished his sandwich, which he took a hasty bite of before she stole it again.

"No, but I know these things. And if you're not gay, does Cedric know that? Do _you?_ "

That was a hit on the heart of the matter there, close to enough to kill Harry's appetite. Not quite though, he mused as he took another bite.

"Cedric knows it's not a real date, I'm just going to the ball with him. As for me... I have no idea. I'm not interested in Cedric, I know that much."

Harry didn't need a vampires telepathic abilities to know Hermione and her keen mind could work out pretty much _everything_ from Harry's cryptic sentence while he finished his sandwich. After a minute or so of silence but for chewing, she uttered one word that lifted Harry's spirits a little. At least Hermione would be someone he could talk to about the mess in his head.

"Vlad?"

"I don't know. This is why I can't talk to him about any of this. I just... I don't like seeing him with Krum, but I don't know that that's not just because I am selfishly used to monopolizing all of his time. I'm not... I'm not _gay,_ I don't think I would actually ever look at a guy and **want** them."

"But normal rules have never applied to you and Vlad?"

"Exactly. We're close, but it's... it's different. Different to me and Draco because he's like my brother, to me and you even though we've had a fair few near-death experiences. And I can't speak to Vlad about this, because it's not exactly fair to put my confusion on him when he's got enough going on with the tournament and his boyfriend."

"Mmm. I see your point. By the sounds of it, you don't know what you want. Maybe you should take some time to figure that out. Vlad's still going to be around when the Triwizard Tournament is over."

"You have more faith in him than he does. He is pretty sure the tournament is going to do it's best to kill him."

"Nice deflection. Seriously though. If you want to talk to Vlad as your friend, go for it. If you want to vent jealousy at him with nothing else to it, _that_ wouldn't be very fair. Don't put that sort of pressure on your friendship if you aren't sure."

Staring solemnly at the ground, watching the snow drifts shift slowly in the mild breeze that had Hermione's cheeks bright pink but had no effect on Harry, he could only nod.

"You're right. Thanks Hermione."

He didn't feel any closer to clarity on his feelings, but Hermione had offered advice, and a conscience to the thoughts where she was not riddled with jealousy - his and Vlad's friendship was too precious to risk if Harry wasn't sure what he wanted. Hell, even then, he couldn't be sure what _Vlad_ wanted. Harry needed to be certain he wanted more, and that it was worth the risk. And there was Viktor Krum to consider - if he made Vlad happy, Harry couldn't get in the way of that.

* * *

"You have a responsibility during the Yule Ball, by the way?"

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Make sure I don't stare at Harry. I knew I was in trouble when he ordered them over the summer."

Viktor chuckled, covering his face to muffle the sound with his hand when Vlad glared.

"It's _not_ funny. I had been counting on his hatred of attention and heterosexuality to make this bloody dance easier. Now he's going with Cedric, so not only do I have to see him with another guy, we have to dance at the same time!"

"Come on. It's a little funny for me. I have to ensure my date is not seen ogling other men."

Vlad continued glaring, and his 'boyfriend' continued laughing. It was good he wasn't brought down by Vlad's dour mood - he had taken the available chance not to see Harry and Cedric together when Draco mentioned Viktor was outside. He didn't think Hagrid would have minded in the slightest if Viktor had joined them, but Vlad had to get out of there.

"Well, you're the one who insisted on dating the vampire with a mate."

"True. Entirely my own fault."

The Bulgarian was still grinning, even when they were spotted by the second years during lunch break and he was avidly quizzed by Matthew about his Quidditch career.

"Feel free to hex him if he's annoying. I do."

"It's true. She does."

George grinned as Matthew sulked, ruffling his carefully styled hair - apparently such an important style the boy wasn't wearing a hat in December. Outside.

"George!"

"Oh be quiet. You just magic it back. Come on, lunch is almost over and you've intruded on enough of their time together."

George winked at Vlad, then dragged a protesting Matthew away with Bella's help. Vlad scrubbed a hand over his face, apologising for the impromptu fan club.

"It's fine. At least they aren't part of the hate mail club. I _am_ famous you know, I am used to it."

Vlad gave his company a shove, but he felt a smile work over his face against his will. He was lucky to have Viktor as a friend, he knew.

"They were right though. I have Arithmancy to get to. Then Ancient Runes, which I always get homework for but we can hang out later if you want?"

"I'll bring food, Andrew vants to go to Hogsmeade. I'll be back in time for dinner, don't vorry."

Vlad knew there were people watching, but since everyone knew anyway he didn't really mind so much when Viktor kissed his cheek, then promised to see him later. There were jeers and wolf whistles, but they didn't really bother him that much.

Watching Harry head out during his free period to spend it with Cedric - a magical creature enthusiast, as it transpired, with more free time his sixth year after dropping a couple of subjects post OWLs - was considerably more bothersome. Hermione dragged him along to Arithmancy, and Theo could see something was up but didn't really bring attention to it, just nudged Vlad whenever he stopped focusing on the work.

"Are you ok mate? You're normally the nerdiest. After Hermione."

"Fine. Just tournament stress. Yule Ball and everything. Thanks for making sure I was paying attention though. Better get to Runes."

A closet masochist apparently, Vlad stared out of the window on his way to next class, squinting to make out where Harry and Cedric were in the Hippogriff enclosure - _Vlad_ couldn't get within six feet of the place without getting mauled.

"Vlad. Move it!"

Hermione spotted his longing stares, forcibly removing him with a wand to the face that rose giggles from passersby. Ancient Runes helped, requiring considerably more of his brain to get through it.

There was no verbal assertion, no major change between them but Vlad, totally attuned to Harry, could feel a shift. By the Christmas holiday break, there was a tension not previously there between he and Harry. Even when Harry crawled into his bed, he was more awkward in the morning than usual. It was starting to wear thin on Vlad's nerves.

Because students third year and under weren't allowed at the Ball, the majority of younger students, and a not-insignificant amount of older students had gone for the holidays. So despite the grandeur of the Ball and excitement of the Triwizard Tournament, it wouldn't be half as hectic as expected.

Despite vehement denial from Ministry and general public alike, perhaps some protective instinct toward their children had parents accepting that Voldemort's presence could be felt, that there was a heavy darkness threatening the bubble of safety and happiness around Hogwarts and so they wanted their children home for Christmas. Unlike for Vlad, _their_ attendance wasn't mandatory.

"I'm not sure these still fit me. I forgot how quick the whole lycanthropy thing was going to bulk me out."

Seamus and Dean had left for the holidays, and Neville was off on a Herbology thing - he helped Professor Sprout out in his spare time. Harry was... well, Vlad knew _exactly_ where his mate was but was pretending otherwise, watching Draco try on his dress robes. Malfoy instinct - he had to test run the outfit before it went out in public. The fit was snug around the arms, tight around the shoulders and Draco had gained a good two inches in height since August.

"Can't you use tailoring charms? I mean, constantly doing it is bad for the fabric but you can add an inch or two around the tight fits and length and be fine."

"I guess. Dobby!"

The house elf popped into their dormitory, covering his eyes when he saw Draco undressing again.

"For Merlins sake Dobby, I need you to tailor these. They are too small and I don't have time for new ones."

"Yes master Draco! Dobby will do so immediately!"

Without their presence to constantly reassure the elves they weren't at risk of injury for not being perfectly obedient to the letter, the elves old instincts from Lucius Malfoy tended to kick back in sadly.

"Relax Dobby. It's me remember?"

"Dobby apologises. Sir."

Draco dismissed him gently when the robes were sufficiently tailored, placing them back on and gaining a much better fit. The robes didn't suit his still slightly amber eyes, which he didn't bother glamouring over apart from the days either side when that were fully amber, zero grey.

"Still a little sore from the full. At least the Ball is days away, I'll be fine by then."

"Would put a stick in the dance if you wolfed out on the dance floor. Especially when you ruined your robes Dobby just fixed."

Harry tried on his robes later on, and Vlad had to seriously consider silencing himself when he wanted to tell Harry he looked _edible._ As he had expected, Harry's robes were still servicable, but **tight** on his new muscles. Unlike Draco, he hadn't gained much height so his robes didn't need altering - Harry was going to be wearing black trousers underneath them anyway.

"Those charmed adjustable shirts were a good call, I didn't realise how much bigger you had gotten too."

"Basilisk. Werewolf. Then Vlad, who just looks like he's being stretched upwards instead."

Vlad shrugged, selfconscious about his slighter frame.

"Vampires aren't naturally bulky. Bertrand has worked hard for a few centuries to stay broad. Should see my mum's boyfriend, he's twice the size of Draco. Mind you, he's a born, not a bitten."

"Mmm."

Draco held up his forearm, eyeing the scar tissue left from his turning bite. He watched as Harry nudged him with his shoulder, holding out his own scarred skin.

"Brothers in arms... Arm scars anyway."

Draco laughed even as he cringed a little.

"That was bad, even for you. Better put on your glasses, Neville will be back soon."

Both boys rolled their sleeves back down and Harry's glamoured glasses went back on. Vlad could see a faint shimmer around the bridge of them, knowing Harry had repaired them recently. He knew they would break fairly easily though, no unbreakable charm as it irritated his own magical sight.

Originally planning to stay - he even had a _date_ to the ball - Neville ended up leaving before Christmas day. His grandmother wanted him home, and Neville wanted to visit his parents, which couldn't be done from Hogwarts. That gave Vlad minimal time, but an opportunity he quickly roped Bertrand into helping with - he could leave the school grounds, portkey around to help.

Fred and George, with their knowledge of how to sneak around the school, would have been useful but would have defeated the surprise. As predicted, they were in the dorm the second dawn broke Christmas morning. Ingrid, Ginny and Hermione weren't far behind, though Ingrid was fully dressed. Including her Weasley jumper from last year, as tradition dictated, Vlad noticed. He had pestered her to do so when giving her the password the day before.

"Vlad's up to something. I can tell."

Everyone looked at Ingrid in surprise, and Vlad cursed his sister knowing him so damn well.

"Probably. Are we waiting for Bertrand?"

"Yep. He said he would be here."

There was a knock at the portrait hole - Vlad had left their dorm door open specifically to hear it. Draco's brow creased in confusion.

"He knows the password. Why knock?"

"You know him. Tradition and politeness are so important. I'll get it shall I?"

Nobody had moved since the knock, so Vlad padded down the steps in his slippers. Sure enough, Bertrand was there - with invisibility magic all around him as he stepped through. Vlad indicated his head to the stairs, talking to mask the sounds of added footsteps until they were safely behind closed doors. It would be a tight fit, but worth it.

"Mum! Dad!"

"Bill! Charlie!"

The four Weasley adults beamed as they came out from beneath invisibility cloaks - none were as perfect as Harry's, but could be charmed short term out of almost any material but silk. Or bought, if one knew where to look, which is what Vlad had sent Bertrand to do. A vampire wouldn't arouse suspicions.

"I was right. You were plotting."

Ingrid smirked at him, basking in her correctness.

"Everyone's stuck here because _I'm_ in that bloody tournament. I figured I could still make Christmas morning similar. Slightly illegally."

"Even better."

"Shut up and open gifts will you?"

The veritable storm of wrapping paper, noise and occasional hexes from Ingrid filled their early morning, with breakfast and lunch to be served in common rooms undress of the Hall to allow preparations for the Yule Ball later, where dinner would be a part of it.

"Did you invite your _boyfriend_ Vlad?"

Ginny quizzed, stealing a hash brown from Bill's plate with a wicked grin.

"Not to the illicit smuggling party, no. He's coming up for lunch though."

Sat next to him, Harry barely even reacted to that, his hand stilling for maybe a second before he went back to comparing new jumpers with Draco - both of whom barely fit into them even with the usual slightly baggy sizing.

"Blimey, what are you guys eating. I mean, we're Weasleys so we like to eat but that is a snug fitting."

"You _have_ seen them eat right? It's like a sausage contest."

Several of them dissolved into laughter at that comment from Charlie to Bill, even Bertrand cracking a smile as he took part in the festivities. He even got a jumper that year, apparently Mrs Weasley decided vampirism was no excuse. It was black and white, Ingrid's black and a deep purple that barely showed unless it caught the light.

Being smuggled back out mid-morning after much gift exchange and ravenous eating, the Weasleys all gave Vlad mammoth hugs.

"Thank you so much Vlad."

"Like I said. Everyone's stayed here because of me. Least I could do. Just get out without being spotted so I don't get in trouble."

It was a bizarre secret for them all to be in on, but Vlad figured if Karkaroff could get off the grounds whenever Riddle called, and a basilisk could be smuggled _in,_ then a couple of secret passages and sneaking from Hogsmeade at six in the morning would be little trouble. If anyone had suspicions, Vlad was never called out on it.

Bertrand had to leave before lunch, as he had to be security checked and assigned as a chaperone for the Ball that evening. Ingrid stayed, Weasley jumper and all, in Gryffindor tower with them for lunch herself.

Viktor turned up just before then, greeting everyone cordially and Vlad rather enthusiastically. They had exchanged gifts the day before already - Vlad had on the delicate friendship bracelet, some intricate leather thing Viktor had bought on his travels and thought Vlad would like. He was wearing the other one himself. Vlad, at a loss as to what to give the other boy, had gone with a book on vampires he wouldn't have been able to get anywhere but from a vampire. Surprisingly, it had gone down very well.

Viktor was effortlessly polite with the assorted company for Christmas, unfazed by questions and attention directed at him.

"Would you normally stay at school for the holidays?"

"No. Between school and Quidditch, I get very little time at home as it is. But I couldn't resist entering the tournament any more than my headmaster could resist bringing me."

"Adrenaline junkie."

"Don't deny it"

"We were at the final."

Shaking his head as Viktor looked bemused by the Weasley twins, Vlad could sense his hesitancy to be as tactile as usual up close with Harry there. He couldn't make himself initiate it, couldn't bring himself to do it just to test Harry's reaction. Then he would be exactly as bad as Hermione thought the whole situation was. Still, he enjoyed the company - Viktor was funny, even won smiles out of Ingrid.

"I should go, the party starts in a couple of hours."

"I will meet you in the Entrance Hall at Champion time."

Vlad could really have done without the Weasley twins catcalling when Viktor kissed the top of his head before leaving. Ingrid called after him, deciding that her brothers boyfriend was ab adequate escort down to the dungeons. Fred watched after her with a grin, then turned to Vlad.

"You might be the only person I know who doesn't worry about their sister and boyfriend disappearing together."

"I trust Viktor. And for that matter, I trust Ingrid. Above anything else, she would rather die than go for someone dating her little brother. And all of that doesn't include the fact he's gay and she's a girl."

All in all, he was glad to escape up into the dorm to get ready. His chest was as healed as it would ever be until he transformed, periodically and sometimes cripplingly painful but the scar had faded some. It was stark against his pale skin still, and his slim build was obvious next to the werewolf Draco and the basilisk-sped-growth Harry. At least Vlad was the tallest... for now, he groused.

He attempted to tame his hair, brushed his teeth and spent a rather shameful amount of time watching Harry's emerald green robes hug his muscles. Harry seemed nervous himself, not apparently noticing Vlad's ogling.

"Better get going you two. Champion and champions date."

More than anything, Vlad desperately wished it was he and Harry going together. Dancing was an intimate thing, and he couldn't help but think staring into Harry's eyes would be far better, as much as he liked and enjoyed friendship with Viktor... he wasn't _Harry._

McGonogall looked surprised to see Harry there, watching as he walked over to Cedric and smiled in a way that made Vlad ache with jealousy. Viktor, looking broad and refined in the Durmstrang crimson jacket, squeezed his hand, jolting him out of his reverie. Fleur and her date Roger Davies were by far the most normal pairing. She smiled in a friendly manner to each of them, the only female there and subtly revelling in that.

"Very well. Miss Delacour and Mr Davies, you can lead in."

They lined up as everyone began to fill in to the Great Hall, and Vlad caught sight of Hermione and Draco together. Her soft blue dress robes practically glowed against Draco's black, and they were so at ease, slotting together as a couple naturally that Vlad was struck with even more jealous.

He was thankful for Viktor being used to handling all the attention, perfectly comfortable as he guided Vlad into position, holding his hand and waist and placing them where Vlad couldn't easily stare hungrily in Harry's direction. For once they weren't the center of attention though, as the music began to swell from a glittering orchestra the muttering began too - _Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory?_

"Just follow my lead. We don't have to dance for long."

Viktor was brilliant at gently prompting his attention, ensuring Vlad didn't get caught out eyeing anothers date. And once others had started to venture out onto the dance floor - Blaise Zabini was the mystery date Ginny had refused to mention, and Ingrid had come alone because she refused to go 'with' anybody, though she was socialising with Theo and several of the Durmstrang boys - Viktor was happy to have them leave the dance floor again.

"I vill go collect drinks from over there. You can go say hi to Ingrid."

What he was really saying was 'you can go _check_ on Ingrid' because he knew Vlad was itching to ensure she wasn't being harassed because she had no date. He was overprotective, he knew but Ingrid wasn't as cold as she seemed, and the more effort he put in to their sibling relationship, the better he hoped the chance was it would survive when they weren't in the same school for most of the year.

"Thanks."

He smiled, headed over to the drinks area and Vlad slid neatly into the empty seat next to Ingrid - she tended to scare people away, only certain people were immune to Ingrid-glares. Vlad was one, and Theo was both gay and quiet, so Ingrid didn't bother glaring that often.

"Where's your Bulgarian?"

"He went to get drinks. How are you enjoying the festivities?"

"I hate it all. You can come dance with me though, this dress should be shown off."

Chuckling, Vlad let Ingrid drag him out for a brother-sister dance. It was fun now he was better at dancing at least, and it meant Ingrid got to join in without worrying about expectations or the potent effect she had on most boys.

"Definite improvement. No stamping for one."

"I will take that as a compliment. Viktor's back, come along sister dear."

Ingrid was less subtle, just pinching Vlad's arm when his eyes strayed to search for Harry again. It still worked, and Viktor handed Vlad a bottle of chilled juice before wrapping a gentle arm around his shoulders - they were on a date technically.

"Andrew, help Theo keep the droolers avay from Ingrid's dinner vould you?"

Vlad couldn't sit with Ingrid, because the champions had to sit up at the biggest, fanciest table, but Viktor quietly assigned his friend to be Ingrid's left-side guard before he led Vlad up to the table. On the other hand... here he got to sit next to Harry, who was currently looking cutely confused by the menu.

"How does this work?"

Vlad was about to shrug, then noticed their headmaster conversing with his plate.

"Guess we yell at it and food appears. Just like magic."

Harry snorted, but turned back to talking to Cedric when the food had been ordered and everyone was eating. Harry wouldn't get away with his usual huge portions here - Vlad envisioned a dent being made in their Christmas food horde that evening after the dance. Given the visit from Mrs Weasley, it was a large stash.

"How is your... I can't pronounce it, how's your food?"

Viktor was evidently amused - his thick accent usually caused the difficulty with words, but now Vlad was the one struggling with a word.

"Goulash. And good. How is your lasagna?"

"Contains nothing it shouldn't, which is always an improvement."

It took some convincing, as several students began to disappear but the remaining became ever more animated (Vlad heavily suspected alcohol had been snuck into the drinks somewhere), but Viktor eventually gave Vlad his usual kiss on the cheek, then agreed to go and dance with his friends. Neither of the other couples containing a champion were visible, and Vlad spotted Ingrid leaving so he could safely escape outside for some air.

The main doors were open in the Entrance Hall, allowing air to circulate without bringing down the temperature of the Great Hall. Glad for his foresight to wear a t-shirt and trousers underneath, Vlad loosened his dress robes and took a breath of cold air as he stepped outside. Even the grounds had not been spared decorations for Christmas, Vlad discovered.

Over his head he saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights — meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Father Christmas and his reindeer.

One of the bushes was making an interesting giggling sound. One that sounded very much like Fleur, and Vlad suspected he knew where she and her date had gotten too. From a distance along the path, Vlad caught two very tall silhouettes against some more living fairy lights. He banked on Hagrid and Madam Maxime, going by the sheer height of them. Rather than disturb either couple, Vlad turned and headed in the only direction not involving a noisy bush, half giants or the castle.

Despite his best efforts, Vlad still found himself accidentally intruding - Harry and Cedric were out too, leant against the outer wall of the flying practice field talking quietly. They stopped when they saw him, before Vlad could inadvertently overhear them. Cedric smiled, as polite as ever despite Vlad's deeply rooted desire to feed him to the giant squid every time he saw the boy _touch_ Harry.

"Oh, hi Vlad. Ditched your date?"

"He's dancing to the Weird Slayers or something. I needed some air, it's warm in there."

"Fair enough. You want to come back in Harry?"

Harry shook his head, and Cedric said he wanted to go and check none of his friends had overindulged - confirming Vlad's alcohol theory - before leaving Harry and Vlad out, quite alone under a cloudless, moonlit night with the threat of snow in the airs chill. There was a heavy silence for several minutes, which Vlad eventually _had_ to break.

"So, having a good night?"

"We're gonna do small talk? Really?"

Confused, Vlad shrugged. Why was Harry so defensive?

"Uh. Sorry. Is there something in particular you wanted to talk about?"

Harry seemed to wrestle with something internally, then shook his head.

"No. I think I got one of the spiked drinks. Not sure alcohol and snake mixes." He paused, finally lifting his eyes to Vlad and pulling off his glamoured glasses. "How come we never danced together?"

Heart thrumming strangely, Vlad found himself momentarily lost for words.

"Oh. Uh. I only danced twice, Viktor and Ingrid."

"I wondered if you could dance. I know you said you could, but that's different to seeing it."

"Well, I can. Ballroom dance at least."

His robes suddenly felt too tight - where was Harry going with this? Harry scrunched his eyes closed for a moment in thought, then looked up at him again. Before their conversation could go any further, they were interrupted.

"Vlad? 'Arry? Yer shouldn' be out 'ere this late."

"Hey Hagrid. Just needed some air, that's all. Harry wasn't feeling too well."

"Ah. Well come on in with ye."

Hagrid was alone now, his lady friend disappeared and from what little he could see, Hagrid didn't look too happy about whatever they had discussed. Harry hastened to replace his glasses, but said very little as Hagrid walked them back to the doors before turning for his hut. Harry ambled toward the door to the Grand Staircase, eyes landing on something behind Vlad. Something with a recognisable voice.

"Ah, there you are."

"Oh, hi Viktor. I need to get Harry upstairs, he's not feeling too hot."

"Of course. Tell him I hope he feels better. And that you both had a good Christmas."

"Thanks. You too."

He gave him a quick shoulder squeeze, then turned to rejoin his friends. Harry was silent the entire walk up, and made a bathroom trip before he stripped out of his robes and crawled into his bed in boxer shorts without a single word. Feeling confused, tense and hearing a definitely tipsy Draco singing with the Weasley twins from the common room, Vlad couldn't help feeling a little irritated Hagrid had interrupted them. Because Harry was probably going to be unintoxicated the next morning, so whatever he was thinking fifteen minutes ago could be long gone.

Vlad drew his curtains as he climbed into bed, then got up half a minute later to put a water bottle on Harry's bedside table. He placed one on Draco's too after a minute, then finally crawled back into the cocoon of his bed. Draco stumbled a little as he undressed several minutes on, snoring louder than usual as he dropped off much faster than Vlad did.

-YDHP-

 **Hooray for the Yule Ball, and hopefully I will not be hunted down and killed for my tiny sneaking of a direct quote from GOF about lawn decorations.**


	44. Feeling Flighty

**Guest - Viktor isn't really 'touchy-feely', or at least I'm not trying to portray him that way. But only a few people know they aren't really together, I was trying to keep a balance between that and him overdoing it?**

 **YokaiAngel - Thank you!**

 **Second guest reviewer - I don't know about pulling away, but Harry and Vlad are definitely a little rocky.**

 **I don't know if you guys will love me or hate me after this chapter...**

-YDHP-

 _Merlin,_ his head hurt. Harry cracked an eye open, spotting a bottle of water that hadn't been there last night. Either Samael neglected to mention he couldn't metabolize alcohol properly, or he had been slipped something else and didn't remember. For that matter, Harry didn't remember getting to bed. There was dancing - not as awkward as he expected, aside from the fact he couldn't seem to stop trying to catch a glance of Vlad in the navy dress robes that matched his eyes perfectly.

He vaguely remembered wondering if it would be weird to ask Vlad to dance. Ingrid didn't really ask, more dragged a laughing Vlad out and it was obvious they had learnt to dance together as he had said. Ingrid had gone alone, though he couldn't _really_ envision Ingrid struggling to get a date if she had wanted.

"Morning sunshine. Oh. You look terrible."

"Thanks Draco. I feel it."

"No, seriously. Did you get smashed last night?"

Harry shook his head, regretting it immediately when it throbbed with pain.

"No. I didn't intentionally drink any of the spiked stuff, and I only had two butterbeers. That I remember. I don't remember getting back to the tower. Or getting undressed."

"Huh. You were asleep when I got back, after me and the twins serenaded their dates with a rousing rendition of Dance Like A Hippogriff."

"I bet Hermione loved that."

Now he looked, Vlad was already gone for the morning. When Harry fumbled for his wand and cast a _tempus_ charm, he realised it was quite late in the morning. That explained why he was hungry - as was Draco, judging by the destruction left in his wake on the christmas cookie stack from yesterday.

"She had a little herself I think. Whoever laced the drinks used either flavorless or masked it, because nobody noticed until a fair few were already drunk. Even Dumbledore got a little inebriated, I saw him dancing with McGonogall."

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but was caught short by a shout from outside the door.

"You bettet be decent in there or I'll cut out your eyes. And mine, for that matter!"

"Hold on Ingrid, Harry's not dressed but he doesn't seem to remember how to get up."

Harry scowled, swinging his legs off the bed to get up.

"I'm fine."

He stumbled when he got up, reaching automatically for the bedframe to steady himself. Draco automatically reached to help him stand.

"You're really warm. And normally that's not the case. You guys had better get in here."

Vlad and Ingrid came in quickly, and Harry didn't have time to be embarrassed about only wearing boxers when the room started spinning.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Not a clue. We should get him to Madam Pomfrey."

"No."

Harry shook his head, hoping he wouldn't throw up for his troubles.

"Harry, you're sick."

"Basilisk."

He managed that word, knowing Vlad at the very least would understand.

"Bats, he's right. Madam Pomfrey might test him and find basilisk venom in his blood. Can you guys test him, see if he's been given anything? This is more than a bit of a hangover."

Vlad - he could recognise the small, gentle hands anywhere by now - helped move Harry back onto his bed while Ingrid and Draco presumably discussed how to see if Harry had been drugged. At least, that's what he thought was happening, too distracted by Vlad's blissfully cold hand on his clammy forehead to pay real attention.

He felt the weird suction tube attached to his inner elbow, heard a murmured charm that presumably took blood from him. Vlad stayed next to him, not talking but Harry still knew he was there.

"Is Harry allergic to anything?"

"Not that I know of, why?"

Draco held up a little glowing vial, understanding something about it Harry didn't except it was a myriad of colours.

"Basic Careless Concoction. Should have worn off by now."

"What's in it?"

Vlad quizzed, even if he could probably have listed the ingredients himself usually. Was he _so_ worried about Harry? Through his haze, Harry felt warmed inside.

"Shrivelfig, a couple different roots, a few drops of spider venom..."

"Spider venom?"

"Yeah, so long as it's mixed with certain things it's not dangerous."

"No, I know that. I mean... spiders and basilisks don't mix."

"Oh, of course. Here, this should clear it out of him. Contains zero spider parts."

Harry felt glass pressed to his mouth, drinking whatever it was and feeling a weird tingle travel along his whole body. The fog cleared, revealing Vlad's concerned face and Draco and Ingrid hovering around nearby.

"That was unpleasant."

"How do you feel?"

"Very aware Ingrid can see my pants."

Everyone cracked up laughing, and Ingrid actually laughing was always a rare sight as she turned away.

"Half of Hogwarts wish they could say the same. Here."

Draco ducked to avoid Ingrid hitting him, then reached into Harry's trunk to fish out a jumper and trousers. Harry pulled them on gratefully, feeling significantly better for not being nearly naked in front of the Dracula siblings. Draco was different - Harry knew he was straight and they were basically brothers. Ingrid... Ingrid was a _girl_ and Vlad was... _Vlad._

"I don't think anyone else was on this stuff. So why Harry?"

"I think the reaction was an accident, because nobody but us and Bertrand really know Harry's not all human. Maybe someone just wanted you to make a fool of yourself."

Harry shrugged at Draco, reaching for his slippers and sliding past Vlad to go for food - he hadn't missed a meal for a while now and the smell of his butterbeer fudge from Hermione was mouthwatering.

"Mmm. Tell your girlfriend I love her."

"Tell 'her' yourself. What's going on?"

Turning with a mouthful of chocolate frog, Harry found Hermione surveying the scene - Ingrid in the boys dormitory, after Harry had presumably missed breakfast.

"Harry was drugged, then hungry. Ingrid saw him in his undies!"

Draco was far too giddy, Harry decided. Chewing on a licorice wand, he flushed lightly at the reminder and watched Ingrid turn away grimacing.

"I was trying to forget that. Any chance we can leave this room? No offence, but the whole room reeks of werewolf right now."

Draco didn't appear to take that personally, and Ingrid and Hermione left quickly after Harry nodded. The blond boy watched them go, looked at Vlad, then Harry, then left himself. Vlad was quiet, watching Harry closely.

"Did I do anything stupid last night?"

Vlad bit his lip, a subconscious sign he was nervous that didn't come out that often.

"Vlad? Tell me?"

"It was nothing really. You just asked me... why we didn't dance together. Before that you were with Cedric, and right after that Hagrid sent us in and I made sure you got to the tower."

The careless aspect had _clearly_ been working - Harry had been thinking about that before he was drugged, and he was feeling somethkng akin to embarrassment that it had come out. Vlad must be confused.

"I think I remember wondering if you could really dance until you and Ingrid were the spectacle od the night. Sorry for being awkward."

Vlad shrugged, smiled and held out a napkin wrapped object Harry hadn't noticed yet. Peeling back the damp wrapping, he discovered what George Giles had deemed "the Harry special" - bacon, sausage, black pudding and extra bacon crammed between slices of toast.

"You weren't in your right mind. Don't worry, I don't think you secretly want to dance with me. Are you feeling alright now?"

Glad his mouth was full of meaty breakfast sandwich so he couldn't accidentally argue and say he really rather _did_ want to dance with Vlad, Harry nodded and swallowed.

"You didn't ditch your date for me did you?"

"I told you before Harry, anybody who said I couldn't take care of you isn't worth my time. You're my best friend, more important than any boyfriend I have or may have in the future. Alright?"

Heart suddenly in his throat, Harry could only nod stiffly as his chest did some kind of secret ritual to tie things together. The intense stare Vlad trained on him could surely see where the confusing feelings and the deep, previously purely platonic love he had for Vlad became one pulsing mass of realisation.

 _Fuck._

"Harry? Are you ok?"

Vlad could probably hear the usually quiet heartbeat racing, trying to keep up with the feelings that had lodged themselves firmly in there.

"Fine. Just hungry. How long until lunch?"

He was probably babbling, cramming more of the sandwich into his mouth to shut himself up. Vlad did his usual parlour trick of holding the time over his palm - despite the fact he wore a watch.

"About an hour. There's still enough to feed an army in here from Mrs Weasley, and you've got anyone elses full day meat allowance sandwich there. Even _your_ metabolism should be fine."

Harry was reminded his dress robes had barely fit him last night, the fabric he was nearly certain he had discarded haphazardly folded neatly next to the rest of last nights clothes on the shelf of his bedside unit. House elves... or maybe Vlad. Vlad had done that before.

"Mmm. Wonder if it'll be the Christmas lunch we didn't really get yesterday. They don't serve turkey most of the year."

Merlin, he was rambling. Finishing the sandwich, Vlad tilted his head to indicate the doorway - asking if Harry was coming down too.

"In a minute. Need to find my Weasley jumper."

He had spotted everyone else was wearing theirs - it was Christmas tradition. An indignant hoot at the window caught their attention, and Vlad went over to open the glass. Hedwig gave him a glare, swooped over and dropped a bundle on Harry's lap before perching on his shoulder.

"Remus and Sirius?"

"Are you psychic?"

"Not that I know of. The packaging smells like dog and werewolf."

"Ah."

Harry flipped the parcel over to reveal the recognisable neat handwriting of Remus Lupin. He felt a tad guilty for not writing to them as often as he should, but then he couldn't risk his recognisable snowy owl flying back and forth between Hogwarts and Sirius' home, where Remus was too.

"Oh, wow."

Vlad leaned over to see, watching Harry unroll the attached note.

 _"Harry_

 _Having a clear out and found the whole wedding album. We thought you would like it._

 _Padfoot + Moony"_

Vlad and Hagrid had gotten a couple of pictures from the Potter-Evans wedding, but Sirius had been in Azkaban at the time, so nobody could have asked him. Nor would they want to, thinking him responsible for Harry's parents death.

He flipped through it carefully, finding a few dozen moving photos of his parents wedding ceremony. There was even one of Lily Evans-Potter quite clearly fighting laughter and trying to appear stern while James and Sirius had a cake fight on the floor next to the rather confused looking band.

"That right there is the exact same facial expression Hermione makes when the twins are causing trouble."

"Are you saying our best friend is actually my mother?"

Vlad smiled, looking at the pictures like they were his own family, open and emotional. Harry felt his heart constrict in his chest, wondering how he had never _seen_ it until it was too late, until Vlad had someone who made him smile and didn't get him into life threatening situations.

"I know most people say you look just like James aside from your eyes, but I have to disagree. You really have her smile, and the same shape of her nose. His is bigger than yours."

Pale fingers gently traced the said characteristics, hand dangerously close to Harry's and it was all he could do not to take it and blurt out his feelings, chaotic and mistimed as they were.

"You think?"

"I think I can safely say I know your face better than anybody else. You want to be alone with this?"

"No, but you can leave if you want.".

He couldn't really imagine sharing the first time he saw these images with anybody else, Vlad's uncanny knack for predicting Harry's moods and feelings meaning they could have entire conversations with few words. Like now, when Vlad slid his hand around Harry's wrist and squeezed gently, offering a silent but needed comfort.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be."

Oh, Harry was in _so_ much trouble.

* * *

Harry eventually put the album away like it was made of fragile glass, and Vlad felt humbled and special that Harry had been willing to share such a moment with him - the topic of his parents could be very delicate, and Vlad rarely broached it before Harry. Harry tugged on his newest Weasley jumper, and Vlad took a minute to appreciate how much he had filled out in the broad shoulders stretching the thick wool. His first Weasley jumper probably wouldn't go over his biceps anymore, and that one had been baggy on Harry's narrow frame.

"Glasses."

He didn't need to say why as Harry understood and slid the frames onto his nose, touching the shape of it and smiling to himself lightly. They joined the others downstairs in the common room, and if anybody noticed Harry's slightly red eyes, they didn't mention it. Even Ingrid had her Weasley jumper on, looking rather odd surrounded by all the Gryffindor but the other students still there made no comments about her presence.

Viktor joined them at lunch, but then so did Ingrid, Theo and Blaise. There were enough students to warrant using the proper tables, but there were alot of empty spaces in there for them to move between House tables easily. Harry was quiet, spent most of his time eating practically an entire turkey to himself.

There were wizard crackers, silly hats (Vlad had a floral crown, Theo had a pirate hat and Ingrid set light to a fuschia wig) and far too much food. Draco had to excuse himself before dessert, as they quickly discovered real silver coins in and the werewolf was sweating with proximity alone. Hermione went after him under guise of checking her boyfriend didn't need a trip to the Hospital Wing, which sufficiently covered for anyone who didn't know Draco occasionally grew fur.

"Are you feeling better today?"

Cedric's voice cut neatly through the conversation, and Vlad wished he could accept properly that it was _not_ a bad thing Cedric was concerned Harry was alright. Harry didn't mention his brush with spider venom affecting a snake-like constitution, but he turned and smiled at Cedric which made Vlad hurt a little.

"Oh, yeah thanks. Slept in this morning, feeling fine now."

"Glad to hear it. Want to come see the baby griffs? Two of the hippogriffs gave birth yesterday. Christmas babies!"

Vlad couldn't go near that - they wanted to kill him at the best of times, newly nursing mothers would literally be suicide. Harry finished the mouthful of mashed potato he was on, then nodded up at Cedric.

"Sure, when I'm done eating."

"I'll wait outside for you. The grounds are pretty with all the snow."

Cedric left, and Harry followed with a turkey and potato wrap-sandwich thing in hand, the Weasley twins and a heavy silence behind him. Viktor squeezed his hand beneath the table, prompting Vlad to look at something other than Harry's retreating form.

"Oh yeah, I remember that hippogriff tried to maul you. Guess going to them with new births would be foolhardy. Then again, you did face off that dragon with eggs."

"Yeah, and I _literally_ almost died Theo. I figured one near death experience per season is plenty. Is February technically spring?"

Theo chuckled, spearing a square of brownie on his fork and dipping it delicately in the puddle of toffee sauce on his plate. He may be the only person Vlad knew with more pretentious table manners than Bertrand, or pre-no-parents Draco.

"I think so, so you can have a near-death experience in the second task too. When's the third?"

"June 24th. Just slipping into summer then. I need to nearly die next autumn, take note."

He kept his tone serious, but Ingrid's expression of vague amusement meant Vlad couldn't stop himself cracking up laughing.

"Noted. Blaise, stop giving Ginny the gooey eyes and hand me that platter of cake squares would you?"

Blaise's already dark skin flushed a little, his usual calm, cool exterior a little flaky when suddenly caught out. Ginny clearly cared less, standing to hand over the platter herself with a wink at Theo.

"Just because you went stag to the Yule Ball Theo _dore."_

Vlad had seen first-hand how much Theo hated that, not necessarily the use of his full name but the rolling use of the end sound. Theo scowled as he took the platter, taking two of each square and placing them in neat pairs. When he caught the confused looks of some of the Gryffindors sitting with them, he blushed lightly.

"What? It's Christmas, I eat healthy all year round. And these are really good."

"No, it's the precision of it all. Gryffindors are messy eaters... that's why Ingrid usually makes Vlad go sit with her instead."

"It's true. However" Ingrid stole one of the neatly placed squares against Theo's vocal protests "this is beginning to dissolve into a room of heavy overindulgence. I have a potion to tend to."

"It's the holidays!"

Ingrid shrugged, popped the square into her mouth and fell into step with Professor Moonshine at the door toward the dungeons. Faced with confused looks, Vlad shrugged.

"Ingrid likes Potions, she does extra stuff for fun. I say fun, it's probably to poison me in my sleep some day and not get caught."

Theo snorted with laughter, probably one of the closest things Ingrid had to a friend outside of the Malfoy Manor circle and therefore knew full well Vlad could be being perfectly serious. When it looked like everyone was almost done eating, Vlad got up and Viktor automatically followed him, quietly comforting as Vlad sulked over his inability to go with Harry.

The _Prophet_ next morning was both surprising and not. Not surprising in the content as Vlad already suspected-knew the information, but surprising to see it splashed across the paper, with a name that made Vlad grit his teeth in irritation.

 **Half-giant teaching at Hogwarts!**

 _Written by Rita Skeeter._

 _This reporter can confirm she heard directly that Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper and Care Of Magical Creature teacher at Hogwarts, is in fact not all human. He is in fact a half **giant,** making me, myself and I wonder... is he safe to be teaching young minds? Giants are not known for their friendly attitude and behaviour... continued on page four._

Hagrid looked stunned, upset and even his enormous beard didn't mask those feelings.

"Seriously? How in hells name did she find this out? How is she getting into Hogwarts? And more importantly, why the hell does it matter? Hagrid is about as _dangerous_ as a fluffy cushion."

This was the second time Rita Skeeter had a story she shouldn't have gotten, the other being about Vlad and Viktor's 'relationship'. Vlad could take a guess at when the conversation had occurred - between Hagrid and Madam Maxime after the Yule Ball. Undoubtedly hoping they could bond over a clearly shared heritage. Although...

 _Madam Maxime, the mistress of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, similarly of above average height, has been heard insisting she was simply big-boned._

"Big boned... if she's not half giant I'll eat a salad."

"Ingrid. Vegetables. It doesn't sound possible."

Theo quickly fell silent under imminent threat of a knife to his face that Ingrid wielded, but given that he sat next to her almost every mealtime, it was likely only Vlad knew her eating habits better. And Ingrid had _never_ been a big fan of eating her greens.

"They could be half turnip for all I care, how did that bedazzled skrewt dropping hear anything?"

"Clearly she's sneaking into the grounds. Really says something for the school security. Don't tell my mother I said that, I had to fight to stay here to begin with."

"Just to take Ginny to the Ball? Aren't you sweet Zabini?"

"Remember though. Lots of big brothers. And basically adopted brothers."

"And Ginny is frighteningly powerful alone. He is brave Fred."

"Completely agree George. And Gin is giving us that look."

"Let's run!"

Vlad, already fairly sure Blaise Zabini was a perfectly alright guy, and trusting Ginny to have the measure of any guy she got involved with before allowing her legion of protective brothers and surrogate-family to know about it, watched as Fred and George left under their little sisters glare.

He had another issue - Harry. He had been insistent that it was solely because he wanted to spend time with Samael, or work on his animagus stuff, but Vlad was sure as anything that Harry was suddenly avoiding him. And that was never good for Vlad. He really didn't want a repeat of the year before when he was crippled by pain and dependant on potions, given that he was almost completely free of pain relievers by then.

Eventually escaping to the library, Vlad spied the usual assortment of Beauxbatons girls who gave him looks ranging from dismissive to interested, complete with Fleur Delacour as he headed for his usual secluded spot between some little-used bookshelves on Muggle Studies related topics. Draco had stuck out that class, and it was clear Hermione was immensely proud of her boyfriend. A tinkling, melodic voice cut through his reverie.

"Vladimir."

"Fleur, please call me Vlad or I'll think you're my dad. Not a favourable comparison."

She laughed lightly, surprisingly alone and holding a book on ... merpeople of all things as she sat opposite him.

"Did you enjoy ze Yule Ball?"

"It was alright. I know _you_ had a good night."

Vlad realised what he had said almost immediately, hoping he hadn't offended her as he stammered to apologise. Rather than upset, she seemed rather amused.

"Correct. I did, even if Roger was a leetle too... eager, shall we say."

They didn't get much chance to interact, but Fleur Delacour was not at all the fairy princess, spacey airhead many expected her to be. Intelligent and powerful, she clearly knew her Veela heritage had an impact and rather than lord it over everyone, she merely rolled with it. She was certainly more confident than most though.

Certain they wouldn't appreciate the comparison, Vlad suspected if they could get past the whole Queen Bee complex surrounding their attractiveness, she and Ingrid could be good friends. They were polar opposites really in looks, as Ingrid was dark hair, pale skin and sharp Dracula features. Fleur was blonde (a not quite adequate word for her golden bright silk hair but the first label to mind), lightly tanned and had the soft, glowing allure around her. So, while neither into his sister nor girls in general, Vlad had an inkling most boys had a type and would innately prefer either the vampiress or the Veela.

"I'll stop you there, I don't want to be scared to look at the Ravenclaw table. In reality, Viktor or me should have taken the Slytherin seeker, then there would have been a full set."

"'Ave you been working on ze egg?"

"Not so much. All it does is scream at me, I can irritate my sister and get a similar sound level. And that wouldn't have required me playing chicken with a dragon."

"Eet is interesting. Your family name translates to dragon, yet you had ze worst time with zem."

"Well spotted. Most people don't get past the vampire stories to realise that."

Confusingly, Vlad realised after she returned to her friends that Fleur had left her book on Merpeople on the desk with his things. Having no desire to stop hiding away yet, Vlad picked up _Denizens Of The Deep: Volume Three - Merfolk._

Approximately ten minutes later, Vlad could have **kissed** the wonderful French girl for her suggestion on reading material. She was nowhere to be seen when he left his little hideaway, so Vlad resolved to quietly thank her later as he returned his books to Madam Pince before escaping up to Gryffindor tower.

The dorm was empty, save for Phantom and Lily enjoying the vacated beds - they had one each! - as Vlad pulled the accursed egg out from it's hidey-hole, carting it through to the bathroom. Rather than run a whole bath, Vlad quickly conjured a bucket and filled it with water. Hoping he wasn't about to anger the loud, violent-on-the-eardrums egg, Vlad submerged it in the water and opened it.

No horrendous screeching occurred, and the usual dull insides of the egg had lit up beneath the water. Vlad couldn't hear a thing, but Fleur had given him a vital clue - the screeching sounds were Mermish, which only translated correctly underwater. Above water, it was a wholly less pleasant experience. For a moment Vlad contemplated whether or not whoever put the voices into the eggs had to listen to the earth-shattering yelling repeatedly.

He had no idea what the egg being in Mermish _meant,_ but at least he knew never to open it above water again. The more pressing matters included figuring out how to join it beneath the water - their Gryffindor baths weren't really big enough for that sort of contortion - and how to pass on a minor hint or two to Viktor. _And Cedric_ , he grumbled... Maybe let him stew over it a little longer, his mind supplied vindictively.

"You look happy."

Harry's voice never failed to make Vlad's skin tingle lightly, somehow all over him all at once.

"Oh, yeah. I uh, I made some headway with my egg. Well, I know how to open it properly now. That's not much help to me understanding what the second task is, but I guess it's a start. How's your day been?"

Harry's cheeks were flushed with the cold, there were a couple of faint red lines on his skin and he was wrapped up in a jumper and gloves. Even before he answered, Vlad suspected snowball fight, but he never missed a chance to hear Harry talk wherever possible.

"A vicious snowball tournament. I think Ginny offended all by joining Nott and Zabini's team, but we defeated them. Hermione and Ingrid made the most hilarious referees, because Hermione told us off for getting too boisterous and Ingrid stinging-hexed us for missing. Even our own team members."

Chuckling, Harry made for the bathroom to presumably clean himself up of slushy snow and possibly damp clothes. Vlad sank back onto his bed, smiling dopily because Harry had voluntarily spoke to him again. It didn't last - as soon as the others were back, he was quiet and almost... _averse_ to talking to Vlad.

It confused him that evening when he heard Harry creeping around, the familiar silky, soft _swoosh_ of his invisibility cloak going on peaking Vlad's attention. He waited for the sound of footsteps leaving the dormitory, slipped his shoes on and vanished beneath his invisibility charm to follow the near-permanent pulling line toward Harry. Vlad knew it was a telling sign, the connection forming stronger and stronger.

Harry didn't go far really, slipping out of one of the only-outward doors to the grounds and invisible footprints appeared across the snow that had already fallen fresh since the 'ultimate snow war' earlier. He stopped near the stone circle, crunching sounds telling Vlad he had lifted himself up to sit on one of the smaller stones. Being the one wary of getting caught, Vlad had taken to charming their footsteps away as they went.

Aside from the whispers of snowfall and the moonlight faintly reflecting off the thick white blanket of flakes, the night was dark and silent. Vlad dropped his charm, hearing Harry curse silently under his breath before dropping his cloaks hood.

"How come you followed me?"

"Because I was concerned about you vanishing at midnight. What's wrong?"

"Why does something have to be wrong?"

There he was, on edge and defensive again and Vlad didn't know _why,_ didn't know what he had done wrong this time.

"Because you don't often have issues sleeping, nor do you usually go vanishing at night."

What he expected to achieve, Vlad wasn't sure, but Harry dropped from his perch and walked across the stone circle silently, walking right past Vlad without a word. He leant against the side of one stone pillar, staring out over the snow-covered landscape of Hogwarts grounds. Obviously not knowing when to quit, Vlad followed and stood next to him.

"Harry? What's wrong?"

Vlad could feel the flash of pain across Harry's face as acutely as if it were his own, desperate to know what put it there.

"I can't tell you."

 _"Me?_ What can't you tell me?"

He had to fight not to sound offended, confused by the notion there was **anything** his mate couldn't say to him.

"No, you're not hearing me. I can't tell _you._ "

In the otherwise silent night, Vlad was hard-pushed to decide who's heart was hammering harder as they looked at each other.

"What are you saying?"

"I-"

Never in his life had Vlad cursed an interruption more as crunching footsteps sounded nearby. Covering Harry's mouth with his hand and potentially blocking some kind of deeply important admission, Vlad re-cast his invisibility charm and hissed one warning to Harry.

"Hide!"

Even as Harry pulled his hood back up, there wouldn't be much hiding the imprints of their feet in the blanket white, which didn't fill in as snow continued to fall. Their position offered camouflage - whoever it was was would have to be six inches away to see the exact spot. Being millimetres away from Harry was immensely distracting, but Vlad also had to know who dared interrupt them at _this_ time of night.

"How is it my fault that stupid reporter didn't go the right way?"

"The journalist was your idea Weasley, you should have had a better control on her. The Dark Lord does not appreciate failure."

"I helped her get in! I laced the drinks, even bloody Potters. I would have done that bloody vampires if I didn't know it would get me killed. Not my fault she listened in to that bloody oaf trying it on with the Beauxbatons woman. Then that bloody interfering vampire got Potter away too soon. _Dracula."_

Karkaroff and Weasley - one of whom was bleeding by the darkened smudges on the snow and the scent of injury - were clearly back from a dangerous trip. Weasley spat his surname like a vicious curse, and whatever Riddle wanted with Vlad was apparently enough to continue his ensured safety. Not only had that little rat taken advantage of Ingrid being petrified, he had been the one to drug Harry with no idea of potential consequence. Harry's grip finding his wrist was all that stopped Vlad going to finish the job on them both.

"Do not question the Dark Lord. He has intentions for the biter. Now clean up your mess, I wish to reach the ship sometime this evening."

He heard Weasley muttering expletives under his breath, then mumbling a few scourging charms to clear his blood from the snow as they continued from one end of the grounds - the gates - to the other - the lake. Peering around the pillar again, he saw them slowly retreating. He let his hand fall from Harry's mouth, invisible as they were Vlad was acutely aware of Harry's eyes on where he expected Vlad to be.

"Safe?"

Harry whispered it, counting on proximity and Vlad's above-average hearing to get his word across.

"Almost."

When Vlad could no longer see them or hear their footsteps, he dropped his charm and Harry dropped his hood again.

"Well now we know who made the Yule Ball a raucous event and you sick."

Harry didn't acknowledge his words, still staring at him so intently it made Vlad shiver in a way that had nothing to do with the cold weather.

"Uh, Harry?"

If Vlad had the thought capacity, he would have laughed at how he had forgotten Harry was a bullheaded, charging Gryffindor at heart.

But when Harry leaned over and kissed him, Vlad didn't even have the thought capacity to _breathe._ The whole world faded around him, and not even the fact it was a little clumsy and they were both clueless made any difference to what Vlad expected to remember a century from now as the best moment of his life.

Then he stopped, and backed away and looked guilty as the world rushed back into his senses.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't... you have a boyfriend and that wasn't ok and-"

Harry didn't finish speaking, because his whole body shook and shimmered before a quiet 'pop' turned boy to bird. There was clearly some surprise as the bird cawed and flapped its wings ineffectively, but Harry was a natural flier and the instinct took over as he turned and soared off. Vlad had zero chance of following, he didn't get his wings for another year and a half.

Of _all_ the times Harry's magic had to surprise him.

-YDHP-

 **I realise that the 'half and half' of these chapters is immensely uneven, ie Harry's part is about 2,000 words and Vlad's nearer 4,000 here, but that's because I intend to make chapters more succinct but get excited and more words come out so the second half is often longer. It's not a bias thing!**

 **Also, even as I write this chapter I was basically going THEY KISSED. As though somehow I'm surprised by _my own story._ I may be too invested in my characters.**


	45. Open Eyes

**Guest - Yeah, after Vlad spent so long wanting, it was always going to be Harry who had to make the first move!**

 **BlueAutumn12 - I WILL WRITE MORE AND YOU'LL GET IT WHEN I POST IT! Haha**

 **Second guest - yes! finally!**

 **YokaiAngel - why would you get weird looks? 'Finally!' is the main component of reviews on last chapter overall. Even from me and my personal review of myself!**

 **Fangirl-friend2 - thank you for the thumbs up!**

-YDHP-

If he hadn't been so utterly distraught at the fact he had just kissed Vlad, Harry would have taken the time to appreciate that he had just achieved his animagus transformation. Flying was... there was no better word than _natural,_ like he had been born to be in the air.

Kissing Vlad had felt natural too, like he should have been doing it all along. Except he shouldn't, couldn't. Vlad was taken, and looked so utterly stunned by the forward action of Harry that it was clear he had never expected such a thing.

Merlin he was _so_ screwed. That was undoubtedly the best way to completely alienate ones best friend.

Trying desperately to distract himself, Harry took stock of his new form. It had wings instead of arms and hands, which was _surreal._ The parameters of his vision had changed, every colour slightly different and the white of the snow was near-painfully bright. Some deep-rooted protective instinct knew there were vampires around somewhere, like age-old evolution was warning him to be wary of predators.

He couldn't walk on his perch, hopping along like an awkward kangaroo before accepting flying was the more logical transport. Cawing in frustration - it would have been more like a grunt in human form - Harry spread his wings and took flight.

Now if only he could remember how to change _back._ Hermione had said that mandrake potion was purely for curing a partial change, and unless he was much mistaken Harry had successfully perfected the change _to_ his form. Working out how to become human again seemed much more complicated than panicking and wishing he could get away from awkward kiss situation.

It wasn't something he could avoid indefinitely though. Vlad was his best friend, Harry couldn't just bail out of his life. Even if that seemed like a very attractive idea. Firstly though, he needed opposable thumbs again. It was hard to focus on anything, he realised, because he was _freezing._ His animagus form had none of the cold resistance his human one did, and Harry was sure any normal human would be shivering violently in this heavy snowfall.

Turning his head to awkwardly aim his eyes down, he detected movement. It made his feathers ruffle, but as soon as he recognised Vlad in the snow clearly looking up to search for Harry, some part of him relaxed.

"Ok. I'm going to go down there, and get taken somewhere warm. Awkwardness will _not_ be my death sentence."

His personal pep talk did nothing for the nerves, but Vlad's expression of relief and outstretched arm did soothe him a little. At least Vlad didn't hate him.

"Let me guess. You can't change back? One for yes, two for no."

"Caw."

"I'm going to put you under my jacket a little to keep you warm, just be quiet until I let you out."

"Caw."

It was frustrating that Harry couldn't form any other sound, but when he was safely bundled into Vlad's jacket he was too warm to care. The grip never faltered as Vlad got them inside, securely holding the adolescent bird until Harry recognised the Gryffindor common room as Vlad opened his little hidey-hole.

"I'm going to go get the animagus books, there will be some kind of answer. You stay there, get warm."

Hopping about awkwardly, Harry got as close to the fires glowing embers as possible without becoming a tiny cooked snack while Vlad slipped carefully into their dormitory. Only Draco was in there, but still. The vampire returned with an armful of books, placing the stack on his chosen chairs armrest and looking nothing like Harry had violated their friendship by kissing him as he scanned the reading material.

"Hmm. There's a couple of spells and potions that reverse _partial_ transformations depending what they are... but you've clearly gone all the way there so..."

Vlad trailed off, discarding one book for the next and staring intently at the pages. He made a happy sound a moment later, doublechecking before looking up.

"Got it. You may want to sit on the chair properly, or you'll change back and fall off."

Glaring as best he could while being a very un-intimidating bird, Harry hopped down into the seat of the armchair. An uncomfortable moment later, Harry had all his limbs back in place. Touching his face to check his mouth and nose were all fine, Harry touched tongue to teeth and found his 'fangs' in place still.

"Thanks. Now can we never mention this again? Good."

Vlad blinked rapidly, obviously surprised by Harry's quick change of topic but now he was mostly-mammalian again Harry _really_ didn't want to have the conversation about kissing Vlad. Now or ever.

"Harry, wait..."

"No, really. I _don't_ want to talk about it. It was an accident, a mistake. Call it what you will."

The vampires face fell, watching Harry babble and back away and Harry felt even guiltier for putting that expression on his face.

"So... you aren't interested in me. That's what you're saying?"

Harry didn't want to lie, but he didn't have much alternative.

"Yes. I don't know what came over me but its gone and if we can't just put it aside... can we just call it a mistake and resume friendship as normal?"

Vlad bit his lip, unwittingly making Harry's stomach do somersaults as he remembered that brief moment they had been touching his own.

"Alright then. You should get to bed, make sure you aren't sick from the cold."

Vlad picked up his books, cast one last unreadable look at Harry and headed up to the dormitory. Unsure whether he had hurt his friends feelings somehow, Harry gave him a few minutes to change and get back into bed, all the better to avoid those intense blue eyes watching him as Vlad often did. Harry didn't really sleep that night.

The following morning, Harry found himself with a half-awake werewolf sniffing at him.

"Uh, Draco?"

"You smell different."

Eyes slightly tinted with amber, Draco continued trying to determine the change to Harry's scent. Feeling slightly awkward, Harry heard before he saw Lily slither along to try and ward Draco off a little.

"It's ok Lily, he's not hurting me."

"Just making sure wizard."

The hissing serpent still wound around Harry's arm, keeping a beady eye or two on Draco until he backed away.

"You smell like birds. What were you _doing_ last night?"

Harry was saved having to answer at that moment by the Weasley twins barreling into the dormitory, as they often did during the holidays.

"Are you guys still sleeping?"

"Don'tcha know it's time to get up?"

"Honestly Fred, these kids eh?"

"I concur George. Come on!"

They left again, and Harry managed to avoid Draco further by vanishing into the bathroom to wash and dress. Hermione was down in the common room too, looking up to the swarm of boys descending the stairs. Harry knew the second she laid eyes on Draco properly, that gentle smile crossing her face as he reached her and took her hand. Harry had to stop himself from looking at Vlad and doing the same.

Merlin, _breakfast._ He was going to have to see Viktor Krum. Vlad's boyfriend. Who probably wouldn't appreciate Harry kissing said boyfriend. If it weren't for his crazy metabolism, Harry suspected he may have opted to skive off breakfast and hide but his empty stomach was clamouring for it's usual ritual sacrifices of meat and sugar to quiet the hunger beast.

Vlad, to his credit, gave no indications of any awkwardness at all as he ate breakfast, conversed with other students before leaving to spend the morning with the Bulgarian. Harry, spying Draco wanting to quiz him again, made an effort to acquire a lone Hermione.

"Relax Draco, Harry sometimes needs a woman's opinion and you don't qualify."

Leaving the werewolf sulking until Ingrid and the Weasley twins distracted him, Harry managed to get away with Hermione safely. She let him basically drag her around until they found an empty spot, and a mildly paranoid Harry put a silencing charm up anyway.

"Vlad or animagus? Those are all I can think of that we need to discuss alone."

"Uh. Both. Sort of. I transformed last night... Vlad had to change me back though."

"That's amazing! Isn't it?"

Harry looked at his hands in his lap, wondering how inappropriate it would be to say _yes, kissing Vlad **was** amazing _ and deciding against it almost immediately.

"Kind of. I did it when I was panicking and it turns out my cold resistance doesn't help my animagus form at all."

"Cold? Why were you outside? What were you panicking about?"

Harry looked around again, just to be sure even with the silencing charm up.

"I kissed Vlad" Hermione's eyes widened comically fast "and then freaked out and next thing I knew, I had wings."

"You _kissed_ him? Is this... I don't understand."

"Neither do I. I... I told him it was a mistake and to forget about it."

"And is that what you actually want him to do?"

Hermione spoke softly, but that didn't lessen the severity of the question itself.

"No. But he took it pretty well. And you know, Krum isn't out hunting for my blood, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

"Harry, you are the most completely, utterly _wonderful_ wizard I have ever had the pleasure to befriend and don't _ever_ tell Draco I said that. But... you can be so **thick.** Vlad is so bloody crazy for you it's a wonder you haven't noticed."

Shaking his head - there was _no way_ \- Harry looked over at her.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"That boy jumped in front of dementors for you when you weren't even talking to him. He's followed you into just about every mad idea and dangerous adventure possible - yes, so have I but _someone_ has to keep you two alive - and even took a **fatal** curse to protect you."

They were best friends. That's what friends did.

"Your facts have one fatal flaw in them. _He's dating someone else_."

All but reaching over to shake some sense into him, Hermione fixed him with a penetrating stare.

"What did you think, he was going to spend forever - literally in his case - just pining after you? Vlad wouldn't dare risk your friendship, but trust me when I say if you went and opened up to him it would be mutual."

Satisfied Harry was thoroughly confused, Hermione gave him a hug and left him wrestling with his thoughts. Vlad didn't seem like the type to date someone while wanting with someone else... but then five minutes ago Harry had been totally certain Vlad was harbouring zero romantic feelings toward him. Clearly he was clueless. Vlad was always chasing after him.

Now the question was... did he risk going after Vlad?

-YDHP-

 **Yes, this chapter is _super_ short but that is for good reason... I want to torture you all with that big question mark at the end. Please feel free to tell me how you want it to go... I doubt you'll change my plan but I'm always curious! And love reviews... there I said it. REVIEW PLEASE IT IS FOOD FOR AUTHORS!**

 **See you next week! (when chapter length shall return to usual 3-4k+ )**


	46. Half-confessed Truths

**BlueAutumn12 - favourite chapter? Thank you!**

 **Guest - Yes, they kissed! And no, Skeeter was not out in a blizzard at midnight, worry not!**

 **AnimeNerdX - Someone had to do it! I mean, she's known all along but Harry had to do the feelings journey alone. I've already written the second task... can't see a reason why he would have two to save though?**

 **YokaiAngel - thank you so much!**

 **Guest - Harry is** ** _still_** **Harry Potter, he's still the one Voldemort marked as his equal yada yada. Not to be rude, but I am done justifying the Vlad-Harry power dynamic I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING WITH THIS. Perhaps you missed it, but I have written in the reason why Voldemort is interested in Vlad and it is _because of Harry!_ As for who plays what part where in the future? You will have to wait and see! And now that my raging is done, thank you for your review. **

**Ah, you all have no idea how happy getting lots of reviews makes me! I love you all dearly.**

-YDHP-

"Harry kissed me."

There was only one logical person to go to with this - Viktor. Well, maybe Bertrand or Ingrid were options, but Ingrid was causing trouble with the Weasley twins and would mock him before helping, and Bertrand was currently busy playing catch-up on Draco's 'head of the family' training. He didn't _think_ Draco would mind having his two hour class on how to seat dinner guests according to various factors interrupted, but he didn't want to interfere with the two having a tentative move forward in their guardian-ward relationship. Draco was still taking the disappearance of his godfather hard.

"Is this not a good thing? You don't seem very happy."

"You didn't see his face after. He looked as though he had been hit with a hex."

Vlad had dragged his 'boyfriend' into the Forbidden Forest, taking some solace in the quiet rattles from the Thestrals as he hand fed them some raw meat. They were incredibly docile creatures, all waiting their turn - even the foals, though the particularly hungry ones might nudge his hand with a sharp little beak-nose.

"Perhaps he vas surprised vith himself."

"Maybe, but I asked him to his face if he wasn't interested in me, and he said he wasn't. He said it was a mistake, and as someone who knows Harry as well as can be? I didn't think he was lying."

Viktor sighed, then laughed when a particularly bold foal sneakily stole the chunk of meat from his lax hand at his side. He patted the small creatures head, then turned back to Vlad.

"I don't doubt you knowing him, but Harry doesn't strike me as the type to make that sort of 'mistake'."

"Believe me Viktor, I would love little more in this world than for Harry to have kissed me and said he _was_ interested. But I can't do the false hope thing. He's too under my skin, I don't know that I would cope with actually getting my hopes up and crushed. You didn't see me last year, I almost couldn't take my Blood Test."

"So bad so young?"

Vlad nodded, markedly happy that Viktor understood the mate thing so well, that he never had to explain what he meant and didn't appear to harbour any resentment to Harry - _or_ Vlad - that it was out of their hands who Vlad could fall in love with now the bond had taken hold.

"Then again, you are such a... _human_ vampire. Harry vill be a lucky man if ever he realises vhat he has in you."

Feeling his cheeks flush, Vlad ducked his head and went back to stroking the oldest Thestrals sore wing joints. The satisfied sounds and gentle affections of said Thestral was an indication he was doing the right thing. Sitting astride a Thestral felt so safe, knowing they were sort of the same as death was an intrinsic part of their backstory, even their DNA.

"Thanks. When you're done being seduced by me to further my place in the Tournament, you'll make some boy very happy. Other than me I mean... we'll still be friends right?"

Viktor raised his hand, placing it over Vlads with a smile.

"Of course. I'm not spending time vith you for the fake dates am I?"

Vlad squeezed his hand back, relaxing again.

"Just wanted to be sure. Mind giving me back my hand before big guy here misses the massage too much?"

Chuckling, Viktor released his hand so Vlad could resume the wing rub for his current steed. It was a common issue for the Thestrals to get sore wing joints, because they had very little muscle to support the weight of a quite generous wingspan. The older they got, the harder it became. However, not many people would willingly climb up on their backs to do this, though Vlad reckoned Hagrid probably kept an eye on them.

"How's that feel?"

He got a cooing death rattle back, then the Thestral dropped his forelegs to let Vlad off nice and gentle. Once down, the Thestral bumped into his chest with a sharp snout, still gentle and affectionate. Patting him gently, Vlad knew hiding amongst these creatures was appealing but not really constructive.

"So what are you going to do about Harry?"

Vlad sighed, leaning against a tree and feeling the all-too-familiar ache in his chest.

"Nothing. I always said I was never going to force anything on him. This counts too... even if I really want to just tell him how I feel and hope for the best. I value our friendship too much, and Harry has never had control over much of his life. I won't take this choice from him."

Viktor sighed in return, knowing Vlad was stubborn when he wanted to be.

"Very vell. I still think you should tell him."

"You sound like Hermione. I made the choice myself that I would never make my mate feel pushed to a decision. I'm not about to break the promise he doesn't know about." Seeing Viktor about to argue, Vlad came up with another topic to talk about. "By the way, Fleur recommended this _really_ good book about Merpeople. I _highly_ recommend it."

Not his most subtle information sharing, but more so than when he told Cedric about the dragons. He still had to tell Cedric, and find a way to be underwater _with_ his egg. He couldn't just dive in the Great Lake like the Bulgarian stood next to him, given that he couldn't swim.

"Right. I'll... take that under advisement."

"Good. Guess we should get out of here before I strap on some big wings and decide to live as a Thestral."

"That vould be quite a sight. Ve can go... I think it's almost lunch."

Vlad felt his heart turn over at the reminder he was soon to be reunited with Harry. Being kissed by his mate was quite the push, knowing he really couldn't take much more blurring their friendship lines without it being detrimental to his sanity.

Even so, he _wasn't_ telling Harry.

* * *

Harry spent a great deal of time staring at snowflakes. They didn't answer a single one of his questions, but at least they looked pretty and didn't judge him.

"Where's your pet vampire?"

Oh _great._

"Off with his international Quidditch playing boyfriend I assume. Though I doubt _you_ would know what a date looked like it if wore a tea cosy and danced in front of you."

Ron scowled and turned around, finding his twin older brothers, younger sister and Ingrid stood behind him (looking very striking surrounded by fiery redheads). He couldn't beat Harry alone with his bodyguards, he would have to be **suicidal** to pick a fight with everyone there.

"At least I have a concept of _loyalty_ brothers dear "

Despite his words being a familial reference, there was no warmth or affection in his tone and Fred and George instinctively stood in front of their female companions.

"Loyalty is standing by _friends,_ you don't have any."

"And you are _not_ my brother."

"Or mine."

Clearly unimpressed he wasn't able to pick another fight with Harry, Ron's face continued to darken. Looking at the ground beneath them, Harry remembered something Vlad had done before. He wasn't nearly as accomplished as the magical vampires were at wandless, silent magic, but he managed to turn the snow beneath Ron's feet to ice and watch him stumble before landing hard on his back in the snow.

Wanting to make a point and trusting his back-up as it were to keep an eye on the other two, Harry knelt down in the snow next to Ron and bared his teeth with a wand to his throat. It was immediately obvious whatever injuries he sustained the previous night hadn't been fully healed, and Harry hissed the words so the others (with the probable exception of Ingrid) couldn't hear.

"You might think you're tough, or important, but you are just a pathetic loser to us, and nothing but cannon fodder to your boss. Stay. Away. From. Us. And next time you come up with a plan, make it better than dosing drinks."

Feeling the random urge to _bite_ scared him, so Harry backed off and watched the terror spread across Ron's face as he realised Harry knew where he was last night, and who he worked for. Making a pointed glance to the forearm he now knew usually carried a Dark Mark, he watched as Ron twitched to cover it before scrambling to his feet. Would Riddle _really_ mark _Weasley?_ It seemed pointless.

"This isn't over!"

"Keep telling yourself that."

The two flanking him were utterly perplexed, probably not the sharpest knives in the drawer as it was and followed Ron blankly. Every one pretty much scowled after them, except Ingrid who visibly relaxed with Weasley gone. Harry doubted she even realised how tense she was with him in proximity.

"I realise you're the youngest Gin, but sometimes I think mum should have stopped at us."

"It's ok, most of our professors wish mum had stopped _before_ you."

The twins roared with laughter at their sisters quick wit, tackling her into the snow and starting some kind of vicious tickle match with each other that ended in Ingrid threatening to set them all on fire for the noise levels.

"We better get in before we freeze to death. I know she's not cold cus she's dead but why aren't _you?_ "

Harry shrugged nonchalantly, indicating his jacket and boots.

"Warming charms. I _am_ a wizard you know."

Fred (well, he had the F jumper on but that was no cast iron guarantee it was Fred) scooped up a sodden, squealing Ginny and carted her off with his twin following. Ingrid watched them go with laughter, then scanned the nearby area before quizzing Harry.

"Has he actually been turned?"

"I don't know if he's marked, but he's definitely been smuggling off with Karkaroff for meetings. He drugged me at the Yule Ball, spiked the other drinks as a cover up. He was out here last night, bleeding and definitely in trouble with the big boss."

"I hope he was seriously injured. Wait... what were you doing out here last night?"

Harry forgot how to speak. What was he supposed to say to Vlad's surprisingly protective sister who possessed a multitude of painful and effective ways to end his life for messing with Vlad's feelings or something? Before he could decide to ask someone who knew Vlad better than most, the bonus of time and sibling bond helping, a voice drifted into their midst.

"Ah, Ingrid. Your brother is looking for you."

Actually, now Harry couldn't decide what was **worse.** Overprotective sister or angry boyfriend. So... dodging Voldemort all these years and this is how he would die.

"Where is he?"

"I'm not sure. He's looking for you, that could be half the castle."

Ingrid rolled her eyes, cast one last suspicious look at Harry and turned away to head into the school. At least she had seen Weasley heading toward the Durmstrang ship. This left a very awkward Harry with a tall, muscular and magically trained boyfriend-of-his-best-friend. The best friend he had kissed.

"Did Vlad..."

"He told me. I vould like to speak vith you, if you don't mind."

He didn't _seem_ homicidal at least... and Harry certainly owed the man an apology.

"Uh. Sure."

"Not here. Accompany me to the library? I need to find a book on something."

Was there a book called _Revenge On Boyfriend Thieves?_

"Alright."

Harry felt his heart thump against his chest, mildly terrified even in this most un-intimidating area of the school. Viktor Krum hummed to himself as he browsed the shelves labelled "Aquatic Creatures" before, apparently satisfied, pulling down a book. That one, he set aside before reaching inside his jacket - Harry tensed for the attack - and pulled out another book patently too large to actually fit, which he offered to Harry.

He took it, if only not to offend Krum, careful with the black cover that looked old enough to have belonged to Bertrand as a baby.

" _Fangtastic facts about fanged creatures?_ Why are you giving me this?"

"It vas my Christmas gift from Vlad. It's a loan and I vant it back, but you should read it."

"I uh, I have a lot of vampire books."

"Trust me, you von't get this elsevhere. Read it."

Still expecting to be attacked, Harry looked down at the book in his hands. His Christmas gift from Vlad? He knew Krum was _really_ in to magical vampires, maybe Vlad had access to unique books. Even so... what was he supposed to be finding? Krum sat down, opening his own book and reading perfectly peacefully. Harry sat, stiff and awkward and his skin a little itchy as he flipped it open.

The book smelled older than it looked on the inside, he noticed, constantly looking up over the rim of his glasses to check he wasn't about to be killed instantly. He could see right off why this wasn't the sort of book most would have access to, as it contained some quite grisly 'fun' facts about vampires like most blood drunk in one sitting _(blimey that's a lot)_ and the exact way fangs first broke through ones jaw (Harry could sort of sympathise there).

He was growing more confused than ever as he flicked through, until the book fell open on the obviously-most-thumbed-through chapter. He stopped, looked up at Viktor again, then quickly scanned through the first few paragraphs himself. The more he read, the faster he tried to absorb the information.

 _"Vampires And Their Mates._

 _The occurrence of mating bonds is well documented, with some debate over whether every vampire has one and simply doesn't meet the correct vampire to know, or if it is as rare as it seems._

 _As a species, biters are not known for close, emotional connections and so the actual effects of an unfulfilled bond are hard to certify, particularly in the context of a mental rejection manifesting as a physical symptom._

 _Widely accepted symptoms by scholars of the subject however include nausea, headache, muscle fatigue not related to lack of blood in diet, loss of appetite and chest pains."_

Those two words stopped Harry dead, remembering that Valentine's Day incident in third year. He didn't doubt for a moment that Vlad's chest scar still hurt - Harry's forehead still ached on occasion - but that timing... instantly after Harry had 'rejected' him to go on a date with Susan Bones. Suddenly consumed with a need to know more, Harry devoured the rest of the chapter for more information, more signs.

 _"Identity of mates can range quite widely from total strangers to blood relatives, in which case the usual ethical limits would not apply as Mating Bonds are expected to increase progeny of genes, and as such would be taken as a sign these particular vampires would have genetic advantage. This has not been proven yet."_

That was a **little** creepy, but if it was involuntary Harry supposed he could see how they would maybe just have to accept it eventually.

" _This is also not always the case, as many vampires opt not to acknowledge their bond, which can eventually reduce the effects with sufficient steps taken if one does not wish to mate with the biologically-selected option their vampiric core has chosen._

 _If a bond is fulfilled, even in a lopsided manner, or indulged to the point of the bond expecting it to be fulfilled, the signs are subtler but in some ways two sided. Compulsion for closeness, intimacy, physical contact and even silent companionship is nearly constant, and a bonded vampire would not think twice of taking a stake for their mate. An uncanny sense of where their mate is, or of strong emotional fluctuations in their mate is also not uncommon._

 _An absolute is inability to achieve hypnosis on their mate, though this extends to anyone the vampire has 'fallen in love with' if not combined with other symptoms._

 _All vampires mates thus far have been vampires themselves, given that vampires are banned from breeding with breathers or other magical creatures, perhaps this is for the best."_

Harry felt like his brain was about to melt and come out of his ears as a dozen memories hit him with every line he read.

Vlad taking the AK curse for him, jumping in front of dementors and standing up to Riddle for him. Vlad never hesitating to follow him into stupid ideas or suicidal missions, fretting every time Harry got sick or hurt and guarding him, taking care of him. Vlad letting Harry crawl into his bed and fall asleep all over him when he had nightmares. Even the way Vlad would clasp his wrist in silent solidarity.

Vlad always being able to find him. Vlad always knowing when he had nightmares, or felt scared or angry. Hell, Vlad always knew when Harry was _hungry._ Which had become a strong emotional fluctuation as his basilisk metabolism developed.

He remembered then, Vlad's crushed expression when Harry lied to his face and said he wasn't interested in him. Merlin, that could have caused him physical pain. _Harry_ had been hurting him for magic knows how long.

When Remus had talked Harry into almost re-considering his friendship with the vampire... and Vlad had been mysteriously ill that exact same time, angry and hurt but mostly looking downtrodden only to make a near-miraculous recovery when Harry stopped being a total idiot.

 _Fuck._ He had no idea an hour ago his whole world view was about to turn on it's axis.

 **Vampire mates thus far have been vampires themselves.**

Harry and Vlad broke rules on a regular basis, what was one more?

"Harry?"

Looking up at Viktor Krum, Harry suddenly realised he _knew._ He tried to speak but the words caught in his throat repeatedly, until one word came out.

"Me?"

"I can't say. I literally mean that. Only the..." he stopped, looking like he had a tongue tying curse placed on him about something, eventually taking a deep breath and simply saying "you need to ask him."

"Ask Vlad?"

"Ask me what? And why did you say I was looking for Ingrid? What did I do to deserve irritated Ingrid?"

Vlad, practically magnetically attracted to books by force, caught sight of what Harry was reading. Looking for his reaction, Harry saw the most unbelievable myriad of emotions cross Vlad's face until he settled on abject terror.

"How could you show him _that?_ I _trusted_ you!"

"Vlad!"

Krum called out to him, and Harry, acting solely on instinct, placed a silence charm up before anyone overhead and a shield charm to keep Vlad where they were. He _had_ to know. And Vlad's upset was mostly aimed at his boyfriend... the boyfriend who apparently knew all of this, and was... now Harry wasn't feeling so sure.

"If I hadn't, you vould just both continue being miserable. Because you vould never tell him."

For possibly the first time ever, Vlad seemed to forget Harry was there.

"And that was **my** choice. You knew that."

"Perhaps vhen it only affected you. Now it is beginning to affect Harry."

He watched Vlad's hands shake, watched Viktor Krum reach out to grip them steady and Harry wasn't sure he didn't want to stand between them and do it himself.

"Can someone please tell me what is happening here, because I'm really lost and obviously missing something about your relationship."

"There _is_ no relationship. Vlad and I are friends, nothing more."

"Then why..."

Vlad looked sick and guilty, refusing to meet both their eyes then as Harry tried to ask the obvious question - if they weren't dating, why would they publicise a fake relationship?

-YDHP-

 **I realise this has all been very slowww, but the story will pick up again soon in speed/time - chapter 20 (of year four) is (intended to be) going to be the Second Task. Depending on a couple of factors, chapter 25 or 30 will be the Final Task. But can't rush our boys!**

 **And I claim poetic license on the modern-english of the vampire book, because I can't write anything else! I started writing HTTYD fanfiction a week ago and I keep forgetting Vikings don't have things like running taps and electricity. I'm such a modern man.**


	47. Unhurried Epiphany

**YokaiAngel - that was like the fastest review ever wow**

 **AnimeNerdX - If you're tense, just imagine how Vlad feels! Try not to fall off your seat!**

 **Guest - it was an angry rant for me, I'm a delicate marshmallow. And yes you can state your thoughts, but I can also answer them as others may have been thinking the same. As for progress... yeah, I didn't want it to all happen in one chapter after four years of story. Just seemed mental.**

 **You may have noticed last update was early, and that is because I was nearly done with this chapter before that one was due, so I decided to move the new chapter day to a Friday - hoorah for productive weeks!**

-YDHP-

"It vould really help if you tell him. I'm still finding the block."

Vlad shook his head, unable to find the words to openly say Harry was _his._ That he and Vlad were perfectly matched.

"Tell me what? Please, _someone_ tell me what's going on here because I am really confused."

Harry pleaded, and Vlad hated himself for making his mate look so upset.

"I convinced Vladimir you needed a jolt to understand how you felt about him. He disagreed, but I can be quite persistent vhen I vant to be proved correct."

Bats, Vlad wished Viktor would _stop talking_ because every sense of guilt and shame he had about being complicit in trying to mess with Harry's feelings was bubbling up inside his stomach.

"Wait. You fake-dated Vlad to prove I had feelings for him? Vlad... you agreed to this?"

There weren't really words that could make that ok, he knew that. But he had to try.

"No! I mean, yes I agreed to it but I didn't think it would work."

"You didn't think- wow."

Harry turned away, scrubbing a hand through his hair and Vlad could feel the other boys turmoil - meaning it was a particularly strong feeling. He ached to reach out and comfort Harry, but common sense said it would not be welcome.

"So you have this... I don't know, mate thing for me. You know we're best friends, and closer than most as it is, and you _still_ thought there was no chance it would work? That's what you're telling me?"

Despite his inside knowledge, Vlad would rather not be having this conversation with Viktor present but Harry didn't seem to care.

 _"Yes._ As far as I ever knew, you were straight as an arrow and only saw me as a friend. If you read that, you would know there's no guarantee these bonds are mutual, reciprocated. Hell, they aren't even supposed to happen with humans! You're literally uncharted waters, why would I assume anything?"

Vlad jumped when Viktor placed a hand on his shoulder, jogging him out of his elevating emotional turmoil. He couldn't risk lashing out magically - he would never hurt _Harry,_ but he might break the silencing ward and shield charm, announcing far too much to the outside world. He nodded to show he understood, then went right back to staring at Harry.

"Then why agree to _this?_ I mean, no offence Krum I know you're a good friend to him, but I couldn't have imagined Vlad doing this... to anybody."

Harry was right. His idea or not... Vlad had certainly been complicit and watched for signs Harry was affected. A deep, selfish part of him had almost _hoped_ Harry hurt over it, hoped for even a tiny sign Harry could feel the same about him.

"It vas my idea. I'm fairly certain he only agreed to shut me up. It vas eating him up not talking about this, I offered him that vith no judgement. Naturally, I expect you vould be his first choice, but that vas not an option for obvious reasons."

"That isn't the point. Vlad, you should have talked to me?"

 _"When?_ You have freaked out about **every** single implication our friendship was anything more, from anybody. What would I have achieved other than losing my best friend? Why didn't you talk to me if it was bothering you?"

Vlad realised his mistake as soon as he said it, bolstered by Harry turning and indicating their audience - Viktor, still with a hand on Vlad.

"Because as far as I knew, you had a boyfriend and I respected that too much to risk... damnit. I can't be mad at you for doing the same thing I've done. I still wish you hadn't lied... who else knew about this?"

"Does it matter? I asked them not to say anything."

"Hermione sent me after you. I was just waylaid by Ingrid, then him."

That explained Ingrid... wait. Hermione sent Harry?

"She did what? What did Hermione say?"

"Pointed out I was a bit blind not to notice... is it strictly necessary he be here?"

Vlad turned to Viktor, unsure what to say without alienating his friend.

"Yes."

Harry looked hurt, but Vlad had to consider the wider picture for just a second.

"I don't know where you intend for this conversation to end up, but he's a part of this. He's been kind of invaluable as a friend through all of this."

"You've only known him two months, and you've told him more about how you feel about me than you've told me in _four years."_

"Actually, Vlad told me very little. I am just annoyingly persistent, and perhaps observant to a fault vhen it comes to vampires."

"Then why not focus on Ingrid?"

Even Vlad was surprised Harry asked that, as if that answer wasn't kind of obvious. And maybe a little hurt by it - was he forever to be compared to his sister?

"I consider Ingrid a friend, but she is... vell, female."

"Oh. Right. So you were... interested in Vlad?"

"Yes, but I understood very quickly he..."

Viktor's words stuck, and Vlad knew what that was - he had to vamp up and tell Harry straight.

"He what?"

"I cannot say."

Harry turned to Vlad, needing answers more with each second.

"He isn't lying, he physically **cannot** say it. I don't know what Hermione said to you, because she _shouldn't_ have been able to say anything. Ignoring that I begged her not to say anything to you anyway..."

"Why?"

If Vlad actually explained, it was as good as admitting it. But then Harry was definitely smart enough to work it out. At this point Vlad was just being a coward about it.

"Only the vampire in question can reveal it to their mate. Otherwise nobody else can tell them. Sort of... it's like inbuilt magic to make sure you have the choice. That's what this was _always_ about Harry. I never wanted you to feel like you didn't get the choice."

Harry had stopped looking at him by this point, pulling his glasses off to rub at the bridge of his nose and his face scrunched up in thought. In any other circumstance, Vlad would describe him as adorable.

"How long?"

"How long what?"

"Have you felt this way? Or... known you would, I guess."

Vlad could never forget the day, even when he was trying to ignore it, to fight it and deny it was possible between vampire Vlad and mostly-human Harry. He couldn't say too much in front of Viktor without betraying Harry's privacy, which made it a little difficult.

"The day I told you about your grandfather. Second year."

The green eyes widened so fast Vlad was concerned about a magnification spell for a minute until they stopped, Harry's face darkening as he searched for the memories. The bond pulsed anxiously, Vlad's fear of rejection powerful as he tensed in preparation of that pain.

"What happens? To you I mean, if we just stayed friends?"

"It isn't going to kill me if that's what you're asking. But you need to decide you _can_ stay my friend, because I don't know that I can take another hit like last year."

If Harry couldn't do it, Vlad would eventually be able to function again without his mate. It would hurt, he would always be missing half his soul and losing a best friend would suck on any level, but he would get past it. However Vlad was fairly sure he only had one more go-round left in him.

"I gotta... I need to think. I'm gonna go talk to... mmm.?"

Harry cast one last look at Vlad, then turned and walked away. It wasn't a total rejection, but it still **hurt.**

"Are you alright?"

"Peachy. I'm still mad at you about that" Vlad indicated the book Viktor showed to Harry "because you forced my hand, and you made me hurt him. But..." he drew on the forgiving nature his father had not yet scared out of him "your heart was in the right place, and I can't fault you for that."

He **knew** where Harry would go, the first person he would turn to when Vlad wasn't an option. Or rather, persons. Samael and Lily, the only ones who could be told absolutely _anything_ and not a single person in the entirety of Hogwarts would ever know, as nobody else spoke Parselmouth.

"Vlad?"

Rubbing his sore chest ineffectively, Vlad turned to his pseudo-boyfriend.

"What?"

"Told you so."

* * *

Dropping into the trunk was both a massive relief and a heady reminder - Vlad had done this for him.

"Wizard?"

Lily spent a great deal of time down here with Samael herself now, knowing it was more imperative than ever Harry's parseltongue abilities be kept a secret. Upon Harry's arrival, she slithered up and wound around his leg, now long enough to make the trip up his body fast and slink around his neck. Feeling her rub her head on his cheek affectionately, Harry felt better already.

Samael wasn't far behind her, his enormous head a welcome sight as it bumped Harry's chest gently and both snakes made non-word hisses, just murmurs of happy sounds for Harry's presence. They were bonded to him... just like Vlad was. Merlin, that was a harsh truth to absorb, but also a bizarrely appealing one.

 _He_ could make Vlad this level of happy. That was completely within his power, but he had to come to terms with a few home truths. Vlad had lied to him - with the best of intentions, but it wasn't heaven's road paved with good intentions. And _clearly,_ Harry was not as straight as he thought. He knew that ultimately didn't matter - Vlad and Viktor's high-profile coming out had mostly only incurred the wrath of jealousy, there was very little homophobia in the wizarding population itself.

Seamus not-withstanding.

"Are you alright wizard?"

"It's been a mad couple of days."

Samael picked up Harry with his tail, slinking into the 'outdoor' space that was truly an incredible feat of magic and Vlad had done it just so Harry wasn't missing Samael. He really _had_ been blind. Forming a wide coiled shape, Samael let Harry settle against the scales and relax for a few minutes before prompting him to talk about what troubled him.

Harry explained, hissing for what felt like forever as he basked in magically created sunlight against cool scales and with his two reptilian familiars.

"If you are open to reciprocating his feelings, what is the problem?"

"It's so... final. We're fourteen years old, Vlad is _immortal_ and going by what I read, the closer I let Vlad get to me the worse it would be on him if I change my mind."

"Why would you change your mind?"

Samael and Lily both fixed him with beady eyes, awaiting his answer and flicking tongues out to taste his emotions on the air.

"I don't know. I just know I couldn't hurt him like that. And it would never be slow - Vlad is basically madly in love with me, I'm still finding my bearings in all these feelings so it would be nought to sixty straight away. That's... its a lot to get my head around."

Lily rolled her eyes, slithering down to sit in Harry's lap and looking rather comical as she balanced herself upright in that position. However, it was Samael that spoke.

"You think your vampire would rush your feelings, after he has hidden his own for so long solely to ensure you never felt forced into anything?"

 _That_ was a very good point.

"No. No, I don't."

He needed to have a serious conversation with Vlad, he knew, but suddenly it all seemed to lay out so simply before him. Vlad would _never_ hurt Harry, he would rather die. He couldn't really ask for anything more of the vampire who had sacrificed a great deal for him, simply to see Harry happy. Had taken a killing curse just to keep Harry alive, and never faltered no matter how bad a friend Harry had been sometimes.

"Wizard?"

"I need to talk to Vlad."

Harry was about to get up and go in search of the vampire, but then wondered if he could just bring Vlad to him. Strong emotional fluctuations... how close had Vlad gotten to him, if it was supposed to be an all or nothing deal?

Closing his eyes, Harry tried to choose something that would cause a sudden surge of emotion. An obvious contender came up - watching Vlad almost die in the First Task... had that really only been just over a month ago? The familiar terror rose up, and now Harry waited.

Samael noticed before Harry did, head turning to the side of the doorway as a voice called out from the central room.

"Harry? Are you in here? What am I doing... it's not like the snakes can answer me if he's not."

Apparently a little flustered, Vlad babbled to himself as he looked around before spotting Samael. The look of relief when he saw Harry unharmed was so pure and brilliant, it made Harry's heart tighten and Vlad's face reacted accordingly. Merlin, _how_ had he never noticed the perception Vlad had? He slid down off Samael's coils, walking slowly over to Vlad.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine. I was uh... testing to see if I understood this right. You thought I was scared... right?"

Vlad nodded, eyes downcast as though his shoes were the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Right."

"What else? Can you feel, I mean?"

"Happy, sad, scared, angry... hungry. In pain. Sick. Nightmares. Any sudden or intense surge of emotion really."

"Can you really always find me?"

Vlad looked up, clearly debating how to answer.

"Not _through_ Hogwarts warding spells. If we are both inside them or outside them, yeah. That's how... that's how I found you in Little Hangleton."

"Wow."

Harry had one more burning question, one he had been thinking about since he saw 'would take a stake for their mate'.

"Did you really know the curse wouldn't kill you?"

Vlad's eyes became turbulent oceans of emotion, and Harry knew the answer before he said it. A hand drifted to his chest absent-mindedly, rubbing the scar left from the curse in question.

"No. I didn't care, I just knew I couldn't live in a world without you."

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

"About the curse? Or... the mate thing?"

"Uh, both I guess."

Vlad looked away, biting his lip and momentarily distracting Harry because despite all of the things going on in his head, Harry couldn't help _noticing_ Vlad, feeling the new and terrifying attraction.

"Honestly, I don't think about the curse thing much. Now I _know_ it can't kill me, I mean. The other thing... I don't know. I never wanted you to feel pushed, so much of your life has been pre-set or _chosen_ for you. I didn't want to be another thing you had no say in."

 _Damn,_ Vlad made it really bloody difficult to be angry at when he put it like that.

"Who else knows?"

"Uh, Viktor. I didn't tell him, he straight out asked. Ingrid and Bertrand... so probably Snape too, they worked it out. Hermione... she overheard Bertrand talking to me about it last year when I was... y'know, sick. That's it. I've never actually _told_ anyone, it's just very hard to deny."

They had drifted closer unintentionally, and it felt very strange in the 'outdoor' space because it _felt_ public, but really there were few places more private. If they ignored the snake-y audience.

"You're going to have to stop keeping secrets from me."

"You might have noticed... I can't lie to your face."

Vlad still had a couple of inches height on him, but he was clearly feeling wrong-footed by Harry's proximity and the tension in the air and seemed to be trying to shrink in on himself, eyes mostly on the floor.

"I don't want to tell anyone... you're right, my life is such a bloody free-for-all."

"Tell anyone what?"

He wasn't even looking at him, and Harry still knew there would be a desperate sort of hope in his face regardless. Heart pounding, Harry placed a hand on Vlad's cheek and ducked his own head to press his mouth to Vlads. He yielded instantly, letting Harry lead and making a soft sound in the back of his throat, a sound Harry wanted to hear again and again.

He expected to feel awkward again like before, when he had been sufficiently panicked enough to turn into a bird in a snowstorm. This time though, Vlad was smiling and his cheeks were tinged pink, usually dark eyes lit up and Harry felt utterly at ease - like he _always_ did around Vlad.

"That."

"Damnit."

Harry knew a moments confusion, watching as Vlad's face clouded with what could only be described as a sulky pout.

"What?"

"Oh! No! Not you. Just... Viktor was there when I left to come here and said he thought this would happen, and that he was happy to cover for us if you wanted this to stay quiet. On one condition."

Still confused, but less scared Vlad was pulling some elaborate prank, Harry tilted his head.

"Which is?"

"We have to both hang out with him so he can irritate his headmaster even more. There are good reasons he and Ingrid get along... including that they love winding people up."

"Vlad?"

"Hmm?"

"Shut up."

Before his friend could think too hard, Harry kissed him again. Just because he could.

-YDHP-

 **AT LAST! And that's the end of Chosen Two...**

 **Just kidding! Put down the pitch forks...**

 **I had written and re-written and scrapped and re-planned so many ways that this part would go and I'm not sure I did it any justice but a grand total of... what, _ninety seven_ chapters in? It's happened!**


	48. Teachers Pet

**YokaiAngel - yes! Celebrations all round! And thank you :)**

 **Fangirlfriend2 - no, the last few chapters have been shorter, but every chapter but one has been over 3,000 words each. I don't like to have** ** _too_** **much going on per chapter, because I feel like it doesn't flow as well.**

 **AnimeNerdX - haha I'm sorry you were almost fooled! We have a long way to go yet, those two can just kiss and make up now! So no more dying.**

 **Guest - I appreciate the time taken for the long review, especially as you dislike saying much. I see your point, but you have to understand this story came from the brain of a very Vlad-centric man, and Vlad was always going to be the Triwizard guy. I can promise, without giving too much away, that Harry's got a busy couple of years ahead of him, but his whole power growth thing is tied to that and he's just not _there_ yet.**

-YDHP-

"That tickles!"

"Sorry."

Harry squirmed, and Vlad regretfully stopped indulging so deeply in the new scent of his mate - Harry had accepted him, was receptive and the vampire couldn't get enough of the change to his scent. Before it had just been _mate, safety, protect._ Now it was also _love, home, mine._ Nothing outside the little bubble they were in mattered for that moment, because Harry was voluntarily laying on Vlad's bed with him - no nightmare precedent.

"Why are you doing that anyway? Last I checked, you are too young to drink blood."

Vlad shrugged, or as best he could from his current position and Harry turned to look at him. Vlad didn't want to scare him, didn't want to remind Harry he had been essentially pining after him for years now.

"Hey, no more secrets remember? You promised. I swear I won't be freaked out... unless you're possessed by a ghost. That would be a bit weird."

"I'm not possessed by a ghost. It's... this probably sounds weird to you, but you smell different now."

"Vampire thing. I'm not exactly unaware you aren't human you know."

"I know."

Harry slid his fingers through Vlads, surprisingly taken with the whole hand-holding thing and Vlad was already thinking how much it **sucked** they couldn't do it in public. But Harry wanted privacy, and he completely accepted that. After the debacle of Vlad and Viktor's 'coming out', Vlad couldn't really blame Harry for not wanting the same thing happening to them.

All the same, he thoroughly enjoyed the way their skin rested against the other, the faint tingling sensation a little stronger now too.

"Vlad. Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Don't be a smartarse."

Chuckling, Vlad shrugged.

"Go ahead."

"That book said you could get actual pain from this mate stuff. Is that true?"

Damn, he hated his inability to lie to Harry.

"Yeah."

"Was it ever _really_ bad? Have you been covering it up with passing it off as your scar the whole time?"

"It has been bad sometimes. But no, I haven't been covering it up with my scar. Only did that once or twice. The rest of the time I pretended to be ill, or just toughed it out."

 _For garlics sake mouth, stop talking!_ Vlad admonished himself silently, not wanting to put all this on Harry but just unable to lie when asked a direct question now.

"Third year, just before Halloween. When Remus talked me in to 'reconsidering' our friendship because of the dementors? You could barely get out of bed."

"Yeah. That was the worst one by far. I'm not sure how Bertrand told him... or maybe a werewolf just knows but he definitely recognised what was wrong with me."

"And that's when he suddenly changed his mind. The other time... you said your scar was hurting when I told you about Susan. Lie?"

"Lie. Susan definitely had an inkling I didn't just like you as a friend. I think it's a female superpower, because Ingrid worked it out straight away really. And Hermione knew about mates before she found out. Women man... _scary."_

Harry laughed, and it was a beautiful sound that made Vlad's heart skip.

"And that's why you're gay? Women scare you?"

"Vampires don't really put names to it. If your mate is the same gender as you, that's just what happens. I haven't told my dad yet though."

"How come?"

Vlad sighed, but Harry squeezed his hand reassuringly and it soothed him instantly.

"He's always been set on me being some wife-magnet and have a bunch of kids. Because he was a wild character back in Transylvania with women... it's amazing I don't have more siblings."

"Well, you're stuck with me. We can raise snakes and tell your dad to get over it."

"Mmm. That's bound to go over brilliantly."

Despite not actually intending to say a thing, both Ingrid and Hermione clearly knew the boys way too well - Ingrid looked between the two of them over breakfast, cool and calculating before she threw a grape at Vlad. Somehow, he knew that translated to her understanding the change.

Hermione outright quizzed them on it as soon as she got a chance that afternoon. Or rather, she quizzed Vlad while Harry and Draco were talking Quidditch with Viktor.

"So it worked?"

"Shut up. And _how_ did you tell Harry anything?"

She grinned with that spark of mischief that most wouldn't believe the studious bookwork capable of, looking over at the more sporty boys.

"I didn't tell him a thing about mates and vampires. I just pointed out you couldn't be more in love with him if you tried. I know you asked me not to tell him, but you were both miserable and I could fix that."

"I can't be mad at you. Or Viktor... he managed to _tell_ Harry without actually telling him. It's my own fault for giving him that book though I suppose..."

He wasn't angry at either of them though. How could he be? One look at Harry, his beautiful mate, who liked holding his hand and kissing him until Vlad couldn't _breathe..._ what could be better?

It got a little trickier when everyone came back, because they had gone from only hiding from Draco who mostly slept like a rock, to another three boys who knew nothing. Fred and George - who regularly burst into the fourth year dormitory unannounced - didn't think anything of Harry not being in his own bed, but the others might. Since Harry now spent three or four nights a week at least burrowing into Vlad's hold and sleeping there.

Samael simply gave Vlad a knowing look... if a basilisk was capable of such a thing, whenever he went down in the trunk with Harry. It was Harry's favourite place, and Vlad loved how relaxed he was surrounded by his reptilian familiars. And down in that hidden place... they had nothing to hide.

"So, it is going vell vith you two?"

"That obvious huh?"

"You are practically lit up Vlad. It is very nice to see."

Viktor grinned, taking the Honeydukes bag Vlad offered to hunt through for his 'secret favourite' of coconut squares. Vlad wasn't sure why it was a secret. Feeling his senses begin to tingle, a shadow fell between them.

"Mind if I interrupt your date?"

Vlad twisted around, eyes travelling upwards to see Harry standing over them and he felt the smile steal over his face in seconds.

"Thought you had class."

"Can't do Healing class when there's four kids with dragon pox."

"Ah."

Harry dropped down on Vlad's other side, nudging him with his shoulder but keeping his behaviour platonic where they could be seen. There were multiple students milling about despite the cold by the lake, but thankfully a great deal of their novelty had worn off and the famously gay couple were for the most part left alone now.

"I can't vait for the ice to thaw on that lake, I vant to go swimming again."

"You're insane. You're wonderful, but utterly mad."

Vlad and Harry had had several talks on these matters - if he wanted secrecy, Vlad _had_ to maintain the illusion of his relationship with Viktor. And even aside from that, he intended to stay friends with the Bulgarian. Thankfully Harry was understanding, and knew that the two had done nothing more intimate than hold hands and Viktor's habit of kissing him on the cheek.

"Ah yes. You cannot swim. I uh... hm."

"What is it Viktor?"

"You haven't solved your egg, have you?"

He said it quietly - Harry and Vlad could hear him, but nobody else. Vlad's mind turned over the words - he hadn't yet worked out how he would listen to the egg underwater, and be underwater himself.

"No. Wait. What does that have to do with my inability to swim?"

Viktor grimaced slightly, then turned his head toward the frozen lake.

"Oh, you're _kidding_ me."

"I don't vish to panic you, but... you may vant to learn. And quickly."

Vlad was sliding straight to panic anyway, until Harry rested a hand on his arm to divert his attention. And soothe him, as his mates touch often did.

"Don't stress. I have a plan for that."

"Really?"

Harry nodded, smiling softly and Vlad felt immediately better.

"Really. Is there butterbeer fudge in that bag?"

Harry happily jumped in to eating sweets, making Viktor laugh as he rifled through for the main one he was after - Vlad usually filled half of any pick-and-mix bag he bought with that fudge, even though he didn't love it much himself, because Harry _always_ raided his sweets stash and it was _his_ favourite. He wondered if Harry had realised that.

"Viktor!"

Vlad felt Viktor's fingers curl around his, so by the time his headmaster darkened their restful relaxation by the lake, he saw the two holding hands and sat with Harry Potter.

"Yes headmaster?"

"You're supposed to be in Arithmancy study."

"I thought that vas tomorrow."

"It has been changed. Come along, you can fraternise on your own time."

Vlad had to fight not to laugh as Viktor turned back to him, rolled his eyes and kissed his cheek.

"I'm sorry, I have to go."

"It's fine. You know me... I love studying. Go be smart."

Karkaroff stood tapping his heel impatiently until Viktor stood and headed off toward the boat. Harry joined Vlad in laughing when they were alone, and he was glad to see Harry didn't look - or _feel -_ angry or jealous, like Vlad may have done before. Now... now he was happy, relaxed.

"Oh man, I think that actually almost broke him."

"Imagine changing his classes around to get him away from me."

Harry nodded, eyes sliding over the frozen lake again.

"Right. It's nearly lunch, so that's top priority. Then you grab your egg, I have a plan."

Vlad couldn't help laughing at his mates predictable prioritising of his need to eat frequently and hungrily. They cast drying charms on their clothes where some snow-dampness had settled, then headed back in for lunch. Harry devoured his usual half a cow's worth of meat (maybe he was exaggerating a little) before they disappeared into the swell of students heading all over the castle to slip into the dormitory before anyone else was back for the free period.

"Grab the egg then."

Rather unsure what Harry was planning, Vlad picked up his golden dragon egg and watched as Harry pulled Samael's trunk from beneath his bed. Getting into it when it was balanced behind Harry's bed curtains was awkward, but meant nobody was liable to follow them in to the big Basilisk box.

The serpent in question peered through from his warm-sleep room, slithering out to bump gently against Harry's chest. They hissed back and forth, making Vlad wish - not for the first time - he could understand what they were saying. Though even unintelligible, Harry's low guttural hissing sounds had quite an effect on Vlad most of the time. Realising his mate was talking English again, Vlad tried to pay attention.

* * *

"Samael said he's going to help me teach you to swim."

"Excuse me?"

Harry grinned, pointing toward where Samael bathed and soaked his skin loose to shed. Vlad still looked rather unsure, but Harry already knew how to swim - muggle school lessons.

"His water is due a change, so come on."

Vlad stared blankly until Harry took off his robes, jumper and trousers. Suddenly he was fascinated, and Harry couldn't help feeling a little more confident when Vlad looked at him like that. The muscles in his legs had defined more than even a few short months ago, which confused him because aside from Hogwarts staircases? They didn't get much of a work out.

Samael simply referred to it as "getting stronger", which wasn't helpful at all but sort of made sense when he considered all the powerful musculature that went into the basilisk body Harry's human one was trying to replicate. Vlad was making no move whatsoever to follow suit, stood holding his egg awkwardly.

"If you don't take off your robes, Samael is gonna dump you in fully dressed. Come on Vlad."

"Ugh. Fine. Hold this."

He knew Vlad didn't relish being unclothed - he stilled changed in the bathroom, and most if all people had only ever seen Vlad shirtless when he was injured. Harry took the egg, weighing it in his hands and finding it did feel a little lighter to him since Vlad had first acquired it back in November. Maybe he _was_ stronger.

Vlad glared at them both as he changed out the old water for fresh clean water, standing at the edge and refusing to get in.

"I'm a vampire, this isn't natural."

"Well it's this or fail the second task."

"I would rather lose."

Rolling his eyes, Harry stepped past the hesitant vampire and jumped in to the ice-cold water. Well, he assumed it was ice cold - it felt fine to him. Vlad made a surprised yelp as he was splashed, then another as Samael slinked past him to join Harry in the water.

"Shall I encourage him wizard?"

"Nah, give him a chance. He's never done this before."

Vlad placed the egg down, then slowly, hesitantly sat at the edge like the water was about to rise up and consume him.

"Look, Samael won't let you drown, that's what he's here for. You can hold on to the edge."

Vlad closed his eyes, clearly composed himself before dropping down into the water and instantly opening his eyes wide. Unable to resist, Harry smiled innocently.

"Cold?"

"It's fucking freezing!"

He loved when Vlad swore, it was usually amusing because he kept his control pretty well until something set him off. In this case - cold water.

"You're a vampire, you like cold."

"I'm not as cold blooded as you yet. When I turn sixteen I won't even feel it."

Treading water, Harry splashed about until Vlad started to adjust a little. He wasn't turning blue at least.

"Right. I need to be underwater with the egg, it does something different submerged."

"Off you go then. Hold the egg with one hand and the side with the other."

Vlad nodded, still holding on tightly enough his knuckles were white as he reached for the egg with his other hand. He had to untwist it, and Samael hissed his displeasure when the shrieking sound filled the air. Vlad dunked it beneath the water quickly, and Harry saw it light up as Vlad drew a breath before his head followed it.

"Must Merfolk sound so incredibly shrill above water?"

"Hold on, you _know_ what that hideous noise is?"

"Of course."

"That could have saved Vlad like two months of worrying... though I guess he never asked you."

Vlad resurfaced, hair plastered to his face as he gasped for air and somehow found the energy to scowl at the egg despite his physical distress.

"Well?"

"Some kind of riddle. Hang on."

Vlad went back down, so Harry guessed whatever it said was long enough even the vampire needed extra time to memorise it.

 _"Come seek us where our voices sound,_  
 _We cannot sing above the ground,_  
 _And while you're searching ponder this;_  
 _We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_  
 _An hour long you'll have to look,_  
 _And to recover what we took,_  
 _But past an hour, the prospect's black,_  
 _Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."_

Soaked through and hair pitch black with the moisture, Vlad recited the message the egg contained. Harry pondered it while Samael did the vampire a favour and used the end of his tail to support Vlad's weight better.

"Ok, so the lake is the not above ground bit. No idea what the rest means... except I guess you'll only have an hour to find... something. Can't be too important, or else they wouldn't just leave it there if you don't find it."

Vlad nodded, shoving the egg back shut and on solid ground with a grimace. He seemed less anxious about the water with the basilisk holding him up, but it was clear Vlad was no natural water creature. Harry, with his cold blood and itchy-scaly-skin feelings on the other hand, was quite happy to stay semi-submerged for a long time. Another thing he had noticed - his skin didn't wrinkle no matter how long he stayed wet now.

"Still. I can't swim, and I still need to breathe which is gonna be problematic after an hour underwater."

"I'm gonna teach you to swim. And the breathing thing... well, we've got a month to figure that out. Now come on, try it with me and Samael will make sure you don't disappear."

The vampire was still hesitant, right up until Harry had a hunch and went with it as he swam over to the scaredy-bat. Vlad noticeably relaxed with Harry's mere proximity, so he tried another tack.

"How about I hold you up?"

Maybe he shouldn't already be so at ease using the fact Vlad wouldn't say no to Harry touching him... then again, it _really_ wasn't that much different now except now they kissed and he knew what it was like to hold Vlad's hand (which was **awesome).** Eventually he nodded, letting Harry support his weight and as always, paying close attention to every word the wizard said. Sometimes Harry wondered how it had taken so long to notice, but also knew he had had to come to it on his own - he _would_ have, admittedly, been pretty scared if Vlad had come out with this back in second year.

"I feel ridiculous."

"Everyone does their first time. It's only us here Vlad, and I promise I looked just as silly when i learnt to swim."

He wasn't going to master it in a day, but he eventually managed to stay afloat under his own steam (and mild flailing) by the time they had to get out, get dry and dressed and make it just in time to Defence class. Tonks gave them an in depth lesson on the effects intent could have on certain spells - intent to hurt, to kill or gain vengeance could have different effects on their magic than the intent to stop or incapacitate someone.

"That's why some disarming charms just knock a wand out of your opponent's hand, and others they will be flung across the room. Spells powered by things like love or hate can be terrible and brilliant... like a Patronus charm can be powered by pure joy or love, but someone fuelled by hate would struggle to summon a flickering fog with it."

Most of the students in their class had never been taught to cast a Patronus, Harry mused. Hermione had successfully cast one a few times, and Harry had his phoenix down pat but as far as he knew, they were the only ones. Still, the idea of powering spells with love over hate was intriguing in itself.

"Right! Homework is... I want each of you to pick two spells, any two spells, that you think could only be powered by positive or negative feelings and why. You may not use my example of Patronus charms. Off with you all!"

Tonks quietly got Vlad to stay behind, so naturally Harry hung back too to check his frie- no, _boyfriend_ now, wasn't somehow in trouble.

"Anything you say to me I would only tell him anyway."

"Fair point. Just wanted you were doing ok with all this tournament nonsense, especially when you four champs made best friends and now you're dating that Quidditch one... Karkaroff _really_ wants to roast you for sandwiches."

"Lovely image Tonks. I know he does, but he has no say in the matter. I'm doing alright with it I guess, aside from that whole getting mauled thing I guess. Don't worry about Karkaroff, I'm not afraid of that idiot."

Tonks grinned at Vlad, nodding approvingly before leaning in with a whispered warning.

"Exercise caution Vlad, he may not scare you but it isn't just him to worry about."

Subtle as a brick... though Harry may be biased as he and Vlad already knew Karkaroff was just the puppet for Riddle. Vlad nodded silently, smiled at Tonks before turning back towards Harry with the usual smile breaking across his face. It was a wonderful thing, Vlad's smile. Lit up his whole face, turning those dark blue eyes to glowing sapphires.

Ugh, he was practically writing bad poems in his head about Vlad. Harry knew he was in deep already, but it didn't scare him like he expected it to. It felt... natural, normal really.

"But I don't want to go swimming."

"Suit yourself. I'm going."

Vlad sighed, but predictably he couldn't stop himself following Harry - it was a theme of their friendship really. Once he got over his nerves, Vlad could sort of splash around in a vaguely coordinated manner that stopped him drowning. Harry's best technique for getting him to swim from one end of the water to the other was currently being at the opposite end himself and simply waiting.

"You have gotten the hang of this mate compulsion _way_ too fast."

"Four years of friendship Vlad. Where I go you'll go. Nothing has really changed."

He got splashed in the face, but Vlad was smiling while swimming so Harry took that as a win.

"Now all we gotta do is work out how you'll breathe underwater for an hour."

"Oh yeah. Piece of cake."

-YDHP-

 **Managed to have this finished in plenty of time (for once!) so yay for not having to rush it out. One more chapter and then second task yay.**


	49. Easy Addictions

**Guest - I have been waiting so long for when I could give them some fluffy time! So of course the first proper them-together chapter would be fluff yay! As for your question... the second task is next chapter, you'll have to wait!**

 **YokaiAngel - thank you!**

 **Guest 2 - aren't they adorable?!**

 **Guest 3 - I kinda like Harry/Viktor too, but I couldn't resist some Vlad and Viktor here since I don't think there is any other story they were both in. But of course, now Vlad is all Harry's!**

 **miastmisty - I think I'm the only one writing Vlad/Harry but I could be wrong! I'm glad you enjoy!**

 **Guys, I'm cool with guest reviewing but you gotta start signing off somehow, it's really confusing to answer you all!**

 **Warning for... idk, something. There's touching but nothing super saucy.**

-YDHP-

"So, how do you think we should do it?"

Viktor turned back to Vlad, taking his coat from over the fire in Hagrid's hut to check if it was dry after the rain. He didn't like drying charms much on the thick fabric, didn't always go all the way through he said. Harry was apparently as confused, looking up from his bucket-mug of tea. Vlad would have asked sooner, but Hagrid had only just left to check on Madame Maxime's horses.

"Do vhat?"

"The second task is like, two weeks away. You said we would have to split up before then, and I agree. Evil only knows what rubbish they would come out with about one of us throwing the task or something."

"Ah, yes. I have no preference, so long as you aren't misaligning my character."

"Well, I was thinking maybe I should shamelessly break _your_ heart. Maybe you'll find someone through all the sympathy."

Vlad felt Harry take his hand - Viktor, Ingrid and Hermione were the only people to ever see him do such a thing and even then it was a painful rarity unless they were down with Samael. It still made his stomach flutter.

"Either vorks. People are going to ask questions, ve should set a few details straight."

"Mmm. Good point."

"Vlad?"

He knew what was coming, but he _had_ promised. Sort of.

"What?"

"Told you so."

"Yes, you were correct. Be quiet."

Viktor grinned, finishing his own mug of tea. Another thing Vlad liked about Viktor was his humility, the fact he didn't care for grandeur just because he was rich and famous. He looked totally at home in Hagrid's hut with patchwork quilts and the odd chipped mug, didn't even complain about Fang drooling in his lap a little.

"Can't you just say you decided you were better off friends? I mean, if you have a big bust up style break up, you won't be able to be friends in public."

Both of them looked at Harry, who smiled back before swallowing the last of his tea and placing the big cup down.

 _"That_ is a very good point."

His mate smiled, sending Vlad's heart racing yet again. If he weren't secure in the knowledge his heart had less than a year and a half left to service him, Vlad would worry Harry was going to prematurely wear out the muscle that pushed blood around his human-ish body.

"So, how do you want to do this? Do we just... say it to people and wait for it to get out?"

"That suits me. I don't particularly vish to bother vith the press personally. Let the news do the rounds slowly."

"I would be sorry for your terrible break up, but your loss is my gain and I'm just about selfish enough to be happy anyway."

Viktor prerended to be upset by Harry's comment, but the smile eventually broke out across his face. This was what Viktor had originally predicted would come of their 'relationship' - he had Harry, and there had been amusing irritation in the death-muncher headmaster of Durmstrang.

"Have you been learning to swim?"

Thinking of the large chunks of time Vlad got to spend watching a wet, smiling Harry splash around with sodden fabric clinging to his muscles... he didn't realise he had been lost in the thoughts until Harry clicked his fingers in front of his face.

"Sorry. Yes, yes I have. It feels _very_ strange to a vampire."

"At least it vas before you became physically incapable."

"Imagine that. Automatic failure due to champions vampirism."

Hagrid's heavy footsteps sounded and Harry released his hand again, and Vlad had to try really, _really_ hard not to take it personally.

"Them horses are so fussy!"

"Zey _are_ French 'Agrid. Are Viktor and Vladimir here?"

Fleur's voice was immediately recognisable, but Cedric didn't bother asking and stuck his head through the door of the half-giants hut.

"Yep. Oi, you two. We got a champion thing. Merlin knows what it's for, Hermione said you would be here."

Rolling his eyes, Vlad forced himself to stand up when it was so appealing to stay sat next to Harry and bask in his mates presence.

"I've got class in twenty minutes, they better give me a note for Moonshine."

"I'll tell him why you're late, don't worry."

"Thanks."

They bid Hagrid good day and promised to visit again soon - Harry opted to walk back with them and Vlad was glad he wouldn't be wandering the grounds alone. He _may_ still be in the overprotective phase.

"I will see you in Potions, or Charms if you get held up."

It stung a little, always did to watch Harry walk away from him even knowing it was simply because of lessons. Viktor gently dragged Vlad in the direction they were supposed to be going, toward wherever Cedric and Fleur led them as they knew where to go. Presumably. They made it in the end, finding the usual collection of head teachers and tournament officials.

"What is this about? Some of us have class you know."

"Vladimir."

Dumbledore remonstrated him quietly, and Vlad fell silent if only to get them to get a move on. Almost immediately, he realised what they were there for.

"With the second task approaching, the judges and I feel that your relationship is perhaps not conducive to effective competition..."

"Hold on, did you call us all here to try and make Vlad and Viktor break up?"

Cedric was - rather sweetly, he supposed - indignant on their behalf, as the uncomfortable adults gave away volumes with their facial expressions.

"Surely eet is inappropriate for you to be involved in zeir relationship."

Fleur joined in defending them, but Vlad decided to reassure them it was unnecessary.

"While I agree, thanks guys, that our relationship is _none_ of your business, your concerns are irrelevant."

"Vladimir and I have agreed ve are better friends than lovers" oh, Vlad was going to hex him, he couldn't just have said 'partners' "and ended our relationship. Ve are still good friends however, and you are politely reminded to stay out of our personal lives. Is that all?"

Some blustering and posturing later, they were let go and Vlad might only be about ten minutes late to Potions. Cedric stopped him, looking concerned.

"Is it true? You guys broke up?"

"Yeah, but it's fine. We get on great as friends, but that's it. Plus... life as a sports widow isn't for me, and he's never going to give up Quidditch so long as he can fly. We're good, don't worry. Thanks for defending us though."

Cedric nodded, smiled and turned off to do whatever he had been intending before they were dragged to a Champion meeting farce, Vlad assumed. Now Harry was _his,_ his animosity toward Cedric had evaporated. A positive really, since it had been unfair to begin with.

"Sorry I'm late Professor, I-"

"Young Mr Potter already informed me, take your seat Mr Dracula, you haven't missed much. Now, about these weather potions..."

Vlad dropped into his seat next to Harry, setting up his supplies quickly and feeling measurably happier sat next to a certain smiling wizard. Weather potions were interesting in their flexibility, their variations but mostly Vlad just dreaded the thought Fred or George were ever taught to make a blizzard or swamp in a cauldron.

"Select one of the two on the board and complete it. Whichever you don't do this class, you will write an essay on for homework. Then we will move on to mild transfiguring potions next week! Oh, those are _most_ exciting. Begin!"

Harry looked at the board, deliberating with which they would work on that class.

"Hmm. Which do you think will be easier to do the essay on?"

"Essay? Probably blizzard, but I think the swamp potions a little more volatile to brew so blizzard would be the easier class work too. Your choice."

Vlad probably ought to work on his passive behaviour when it came to Harry. He couldn't go through his whole life _just_ doing as Harry wanted, though it was a tempting thought all the same to just make his mate happy.

"Perfect! I daresay half a cup would cover the classroom in muck and goop! Full marks Granger and Malfoy!"

It wasn't often those two _didn't_ get full marks. Draco was a potions master in training, and Hermione both brilliant in her own right and there to help mitigate any issues Draco had, like overpowering scents or traces of silver in the correct ladle. Still, Hermione ducked her head and turned a light shade of pink, Draco grinned and did a little fist pump at his side where (almost) nobody could see.

Their blizzard potion got full marks too - and the classroom had a thick dusting of snow when Moonshine dropped the ladle in his excitement. It reminded Vlad of when Harry had kissed him the first time, in the snow outside. Seeing him with snowflakes scattered across his face was almost dejavu, and Vlad had to fight not to kiss him there and then as his heart raced.

Shaking his books off before they went into his bag, Vlad caught Harry looking at him oddly. He didn't get chance to ask what the issue was before they were swept along in the crowd leaving class. Harry slowed his pace to let everyone else go on ahead, so Vlad hung back too until Harry looked around, then pulled him into an empty room along the hallway.

"You look cute covered in snow."

Harry murmured, then kissed him soundly and Vlad felt giddy, like he had overdosed on a cheering charm or six. He supposed Harry _had_ to be attracted to him a little, but he had never really vocalised it. Vlad didn't mind, he knew the whole 'gay' thing was new and tough for Harry and he wouldn't push it. That didn't mean Harry suddenly finding him so attractive he simply couldn't _wait_ to kiss him wasn't **awesome.**

"You probably ought to have realised that before winter was over."

"Now I know how to brew my own snowflakes though."

Vlad attempted to feign disinterest, but it was an utterly pointless endeavour when it came to Harry. The second bell went off, reminding them they were now both late for Charms.

"Bats. We better go."

"We could skive off."

Vlad could feel his pulse rise beneath where he felt Harry's slightly warmer breaths against his neck - if Vlad didn't make the effort to tip his head down, he could now see clear over Harry's head with their height difference. It meant he was squirming at the feeling, breath condensing on his skin and fighting arousal.

"People will notice we are both missing. Might inspire gossip."

"You can skip class to study for the Tournament. I'll say I felt sick."

Vlad was only making token arguments, and when Harry grabbed him and made use of his Marauders Map knowledge to escape up to the top floor, then make it to the dorm with Vlad beneath the Invisibility Cloak, Vlad had zero fight. They had been... whatever they were for about two months now, but had done little beyond holding hands and slightly nervous kisses.

Harry seemed intent on reducing his brain to jelly, barely waiting for Vlad to put up the usual privacy charms on his bedcurtains before kissing him again. The usual gentle contact was surpassed, Harry's hand cupping Vlad's jaw and tentative sweeps of his tongue leaving Vlad whimpering, ignoring the fact he couldn't breathe until Harry pulled away and left him dizzy with desire.

"Are you alright?"

Head still swimming, Vlad could only nod and try to remember how his lungs worked. With the worst timing possible, blinding pain shot through his chest scar and he couldn't help curling inwards, naturally trying to protect the damaged area even though no actual threat was present.

"Vlad? What's wrong?"

"Just my chest. I'm f-f-fine."

He might have been more convincing if his words weren't laboured, if he hadn't stammered. Harry looked at him, all concerned expression and Vlad could _feel_ how he worried, the emotion strong enough to pass along the ever-strengthening bond as he watched Vlad twist in pain. He reached out, but stopped short of actually touching Vlad.

"May I?"

"When have you ever needed permission to touch me?"

"It's different now though isn't it?"

"Not for me. Of course you may."

Harry visibly relaxed and Vlad couldn't help but be warmed by the respect he was shown - Vlad would never turn away his mates touches, but Harry made sure anyway. His touch still made Vlad tingle even through his clothes after the dizzying kisses, but it didn't do much for his scar pain. Hoping he didn't scare the wizard, and painfully nervous about it anyway, Vlad vanished the clothes from his top half to remove impediments to skin-on-skin touch.

Slow, as tentative as if he were made of breakable glass, Harry ran his fingers over the scar that had been essentially cut and burned into Vlad's skin. It didn't make the pain vanish, but it was muted by the comfort of his mates touch.

"Does it help?"

"Yeah. My own personal pain potion."

Harry's mouth curled up into a smile, brow furrowing again as he traced the shape of the scar over and over. The shape was identical to his own, but the contours of Vlad's torso and the size difference meant they no longer looked exactly the same.

"I just realised how you used to let me do this when it first happened. Must have been tough for you."

"You used to get in my bed and touch me. It was _torture._ Just... terrible."

He chuckled, watching Vlad's traitorous muscles twitched in anticipation each time Harry's fingertips made the round from one end of the lightning bolt to the other. The very end coasted the top of his stomach, abdominal muscles tightening and relaxing in time as he tried not to react too obviously.

"Do you think it'll vanish when you transform?"

"Bertrand does, but that's based on his knowledge of vampiric transformations more so than dark curses. I'm not sure."

"I hope it stops hurting but that it stays. I like that we match. Is that selfish of me?"

"No. It's exactly what I want to happen too. I like that we match, especially since your scar bothers you so much."

Harry reached up and patted at his fringe self-consciously, then shook his head and brushed it aside a little to reveal 'the scar'.

"I don't necessarily _hate_ it. I hate what it represents, and I hate that people see it and not me."

"I see you."

He leant down and kissed him again slowly, scar pain already long forgotten as Harry pressed closer. He pulled back when Vlad couldn't help grimacing slightly, obviously worried he was hurting him.

"What is it? Still hurting?"

"Oh, no. It's just... your jumper is all scratchy."

Harry actually laughed, going to pull it off before changing tack and mimicking Vlad by vanishing it off himself. Vlad was fairly certain all his birthdays and Christmases had come at once when Harry's bare torso was available for his ogling - Harry was less shy than him, but still (sadly) mostly dressed all the time.

"What?"

"It's really unfair how a shot of basilisk venom makes you built when I'm a strip of vampiric nothing."

"Vlad, look. Look at allllll these muscles you have" Harry ran a finger over his pectorals, then down to his admittedly sort of visible abdominal muscles "you are just built leaner. That isn't bad. I like it."

Feeling his skin flush under the scrutiny, he wanted to cover himself shyly but Harry was touching him and saying he liked it. He could no more stop him than he could stop breathing. Although when his hand ventured further down hesitantly, Vlad thought stopping breathing was becoming pretty damn likely as he found Vlad painfully aroused - it was impossible _not_ to be really, with Harry's hands on him.

"I don't know what I'm doing."

"You don't have to _do_ anything if you don't want to, I'd die before I made you uncomfortable."

Dexterous fingers popped his button open and Vlad forgot how to breathe entirely.

"I know."

* * *

Touching Vlad, Harry found, was _addictive._ Even more than kissing him. Awkward and messy encounters were instantly a frequent occurrence, the whole terror of "what on earth do I do?" vanishing when he realised how responsive Vlad was, how gentle and caring he was when he reciprocated.

He wasn't sure he was going to be up for 'all the way' (that was what Vlad called it, because he said vampires called it _mating_ which made him cringe) any time soon, but neither was Vlad. It was a sort of all or nothing for him, he said, and Harry was inwardly relieved he was as understanding as he was.

That didn't stop him loving those little sounds Vlad made whenever Harry's hands were on him, the rapturous way he watched Harry when he was returning the favour.

"Harry? Are you in there?"

Shaking his head to clear inappropriate thoughts, Harry realised Hermione was snapping her fingers in front of his face. Right. Library. Healing homework. He shouldn't be thinking about Vlad, who was off being measured - _again_ \- for whatever outfit the second task required. Why was it important they wear special things to dive into a giant lake?

"Sorry, zoned out."

"Well, stop it. Is he ready for the task?"

"Almost."

Vlad had taken to swimming quite well - especially when Harry stopped wearing a shirt. He was no Olympic athlete, but he had only been learning a month. The breathing underwater was still a sticking point.

"He's only got two days! _What_ isn't he ready for?"

Harry peered around, checking nobody was eavesdropping.

"How he can breathe underwater for an hour. So far there's the bubble head charm, but Vlad wants something that doesn't taste terrible. I think that's a biter thing."

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in thought as she turned around the library.

"Hold that thought."

She jumped up and disappeared into another section of the library, leaving Harry bemused and wondering whether to follow her. She returned with a couple of books, one of which he recognised was from the Restricted Section (Merlin only knew _how_ she got that) on vampire physiology. She pulled out her wand and cast a silence charm - Harry saw it as a grey haze that absorbed soundwaves now - before she shifted the vampire book aside.

"Uh... a book on plants?"

"Hush."

Harry fell silent immediately. Vlad was right - women _were_ scary. He watched in silence as she flicked through the book, obviously knowing what she was looking for. She left the book open at one page, then pulled over the vampire book. He waited a few more minutes before feeling brave enough to ask something.

"Found whatever you're looking for?"

"Yep. Just had to check it wouldn't be different for Vlad because of the way his body metabolises things compared to a human."

She turned the plant book to him, pointing out one plant in particular.

"Gillyweed?"

"Should do the trick. Now we just have to get some."

"Not found in your average herb garden I take it?"

She shook her head, chewing her lip in thought.

"Moonshine will have some, but I'm banking on him not just handing it over."

"So... shall we steal it?"

Sometimes he forgot that Hermione had once been quiet, reserved and a consummate rule follower. Until she befriended Harry and Vlad, that was.

"That sounds the likely course of action. Ok, I have a plan."

Harry was dispatched to collect his Invisibility Cloak and Marauders Map, which was tricky when they were in Vlad's backpack and he had to collect them and leave his boyfriend, who wanted to know what was going on.

"What are you up to?"

"Just... trust me?"

Vlad softened, nodded and smiled. Harry would have kissed him, but they weren't properly alone.

"Are you doing something dangerous?"

"No."

"Alright. Come find me when you're done?"

He nodded, then made his way back to a waiting Hermione. She had him check the Map, which said Moonshine was in his classroom. Harry put the cloak on while she went to distract him, shedding his glasses to free up his secondary sight. There were alarm charms around the door, but thanks to Vlad (being taught by Bertrand) Harry knew how to disable most alarm charms temporarily - it meant they could break in somewhere without leaving an obvious gap afterwards.

"Gillyweed... Griffin feather, ground beetle shells... a-ha!"

It looked revolting, like rat tails suspended in seaweed goo. Well... at least Harry wasn't the one who had to eat it. He was definitely making Vlad brush his teeth before he came near him again after the second task. Shoving it into his pocket, he escaped before the alarm spells reactivated and slipped away to ditch his Cloak.

"Got it?"

"Got it."

"My homework was exemplary, since you didn't ask by the way."

They shared a grin, then headed out of the dungeons. Hermione went off in search of her own paramour, likely in the Hospital Wing for his check up to ensure werewolf transformations were not yet taking their toll on his health. That left Harry to go find Vlad, who was sat cross-legged on his bed working on his Charms essay. As soon as Harry entered the room, Vlad looked up and smiled brightly.

"Anyone else around?"

"No, out watching the set up for the second task over the lake."

Harry leant down and kissed him, still enjoying that soft whimper in the back of his throat and Vlad's dazed expression. It was a heady feeling to have that sort of effect on someone.

"Do I find out what you were doing now?"

"Yep. Got you something."

Vlad's face clouded with confusion, even more so when Harry dropped the slimy textured plant into his hand.

"Oh. You shouldn't have."

"It's Gillyweed. It will allow you to breathe underwater for exactly one hour. And Hermione, who's idea it was, I can't take the credit, checked a biter can have it."

His face smoothed out as he understood, though Harry could see he was reticent to put it in his mouth.

"Thank you. Do I want to know how you got this?"

"Stole it from Moonshine. Hermione's idea. Sort of. She distracted him."

Vlad shook his head, placing it in a small ingredient box before placing it in his bedside drawer. Harry sat next to him, and Vlad predictably leaned closer to smell him again. He tried not to, but Vlad's hair tickled his neck and Harry squirmed involuntarily.

"Sorry."

"It's ok. Just tickles."

His skin began itching again, undeniably his least favourite part of basilisk-based changes. His nightmares were significantly less now he slept with Vlad more often, but Samael said it wasn't unlikely he would get breaks between the dreams - to ensure he didn't get an overload of information.

"You finish your essay, I'm gonna go take a bath."

"Itchy again?"

"Mhmm. Damn snake skin."

He couldn't be quite so open about his unusual symptoms with anybody else, winking when Vlad watched Harry ditch his shirt before he left for the bathroom. It wasn't intentional, but Harry found he was naturally playful, maybe even teasing with Vlad. It was just too _fun,_ and he wasn't held by insecurity. He _knew_ Vlad was attracted to him, more so than he probably could be to anyone else. And even he knew he was kind of 'buff', with his solid muscles he had done very little work for.

The bath helped greatly, despite the mildly gross part where Harry shed a bunch of dead skin cells that looked a little scale-shaped. At least he only did that in water, rather than all the time. That could be noticeable. Vanishing the mess away, Harry re-dressed and exited the bathroom. Vlad was still alone, now sucking on a sugar quill and Harry had to _really_ concentrate on not having inappropriate thoughts.

"Feel better?"

"Yep. When is dinner?"

"Twenty minutes. We refilled your snack bag not that long ago on the Valentine's Hogsmeade trip. Eat some chocolate."

Harry remembered that - he joined Vlad, Ingrid and Theo that day. Blaise was still dating Ginny. The shock of Vlad not being with Viktor had caused a gossip storm, and a headline in the Prophet but the two had just said they were better off friends, and had no further comments. Draco had been saving all the articles to annoy Vlad, because there had been a few speculative 'why the break up' articles with absolutely zero information.

Even though they were secret still, Harry had enjoyed Valentines with Vlad _far_ more than he had last year with Susan.

Raiding the sweets stash, Harry considered something he probably should have thought about before. According to Lily, the venom in his saliva protected his teeth from damage, whether from sugar or pressure. He would have to bite a boulder (or Hagrid's rock cakes) to hurt his teeth now. But he hadn't stopped to think if it could have been _dangerous_ to Vlad. He relayed this concern to Vlad, who shrugged.

"Honestly, I'm usually a little distracted. But I don't think it's hurt me... you may want to ask _him_ though. In case it'll get stronger, and more dangerous."

"Mmm. After dinner, I need to get his meatball thing anyway."

The house elves happily greeted them, fed Harry leftover steak pies and Vlad some leftover ice cream. They left with cakes and sweet treats Harry would likely devour later, and Samael's lump of meat shrunk down inside a box. Draco, slightly irritable with the upcoming full moon, was greatly appeased by the chocolate cake - despite canines and cocoa not mixing, both Remus and Draco had said chocolate was the biggest help for PMS - Pre moon syndrome.

They had to wait for everyone to fall asleep, charming both their bedcurtains immovable as Vlad followed him down to the trunk. Sometimes Harry wished they could actually just go somewhere Samael could safely roam free, and live outside. It was so relaxing down there.

"Hey Samael. Got your big bundle of ick, as Vlad calls it."

"He will crave similar when he matures to vampirehood. Thank you wizard."

Samael even waited to go for the food until he was done showing affection to Harry, hissing gently when he rubbed the scales between his eyes - it was his sweet spot, relaxed him like a little kitten.

"He sleeps after he eats, remember to ask him when he's done."

Vlad prompted, sat back stroking Lily while Harry and Samael had their moment. Lily happily took the chunk of meat Samael offered her also, being offered something by her Alpha creature even better than the food itself. Samael, who could understand English fine even if he couldn't speak it, quizzed Harry when he was done eating.

"What do you wish to ask me wizard?"

"Uh, well you know how l have venom in my saliva and stuff? Is that going to hurt Vlad?"

"Are you intending to bite the vampire?"

The question unexpectedly flustered Harry.

"No! Well... uh... I don't know. I _was_ referring to kissing."

Samael laughed, amused hisses leaving his mouth as Harry flushed. Vlad eyed them closely, unable to understand what they were saying.

"At present, it would only serve as a mild irritant to anybody unless you were to bite them, which could introduce it to the bloodstream. However, your vampire is safe for a multitude of reasons, even from your bite. However, no vampire should imbibe blood from something you yourself have bitten, lest matured venom be introduced to their bodies through a vulnerable pathway."

Harry repeated it back to Vlad in English, but that raised more questions it seemed.

"A multitude of reasons? Does he mean being a biter, or some weird protection because you're my mate?"

When Samael answered, Harry recognised his evasive speech.

"Basically, he's not answering. Which usually means he knows something but it's not the time to say it."

"Bloody Basilisk. Still, at least I'm not going to die kissing you."

Growing sleepy, Samael and Lily retired to the heated sleeping room. Harry took a few minutes to kiss Vlad again in celebration of his safety, then turned to the warmed room.

"How do you feel about sleeping down here?"

"Uh... alright?"

Thrilled, Harry ditched his pyjama top as it didn't help his itching before settling into the space Samael made for him to settle in to. Scales on his skin were cool and comfortable, and he didn't itch so much now. Vlad was more hesitant, but Harry coaxed him into settling next to him amidst serpent coils.

"Kindly request your vampire stop fidgeting."

"He's just settling. This is weird for him, give him a minute. Please?"

Samael huffed, but turned his head a little closer to the fireplace and resumed trying to sleep. Vlad eventually found his bearings and settled down, relaxing further when Harry took his usual spot with his head against Vlad's shoulder with the vampires arm around his own. Harry could very happily never move from his current place, with his bonded familiars and Vlad.

He woke with Vlad watching him sleep, smiling softly when he saw Harry's eyes open. Samael was still sleeping, but woke with only a little grumbling when Vlad and Harry carefully extricated themselves from the serpent.

"Sorry for waking you Samael."

"I am rested enough, worry not. Are you taking your leave now?"

"Yeah. You don't have a bathroom down here, and I have to eat more often than you."

"Very well. You are welcome to slumber here any time you wish. Even with your fidgety vampire."

Harry grinned, rubbed his scales and passed the message on to Vlad, who thanked the Basilisk and apologised. Slipping his shirt back on, Vlad went out first and called back to say it was safe. It was still early enough nobody was awake, so they crept around until the trunk was under his bed again and Vlad had dressed in the bathroom.

"I'll wait down in the common room for you."

"Won't be long."

Rummaging through his non-basilisk trunk, Harry found some clean clothes to wear and dressed quickly, then brushed his teeth. At least his mildly venomous saliva didn't dissolve his toothbrushes or make his toothpaste turn into some kind of weird reaction.

The Great Hall was relatively quiet at the early hour, but there were still a fair few students awake. Some were real early birds. Harry was generally _not,_ but he had slept so well in with Samael and Vlad that he felt totally rested. He wanted to sleep that way _every_ night. Basilisk and vampire beat bed and snoring dorm mates by far.

He hoped Vlad wasn't _too_ set on sleeping in a coffin when he turned sixteen.

They had visitors that morning for breakfast - the other three champions. Cedric, Fleur and Viktor all sat across from them at the otherwise mostly deserted table.

"Nervous for the task Vlad?"

"Nah. You guys?"

"If you are prepared, vhy vould you be nervous?"

"There's prepared... and there's me. I just want to survive it, I don't care if I win. I didn't enter this madness... no offence."

"None taken Vladimir. Still, eet would be good if you tried."

"Well obviously I'm going to _try._ Otherwise I might drown."

Cedric looked like he was about to tell Vlad to hush, then realised.

"Yeah, they kind of gave it away where the next task is set when they put up a bunch of spectator seats. Is your sister even going to be able to come?"

"Running water... hmm. If she wants to be there she will find a way I'm sure. I wouldn't be surprised if she just stayed in bed to be honest."

Everyone having met the vampire sister in question, they all laughed and bid the two good morning before separating to their usual breakfast tables. Karkaroff was watching from the Head Table, glaring daggers at Vlad.

"I broke up with his golden boy. What more does he want?"

"Your head on a stake I presume."

"Thanks Harry."

He wanted to kiss Vlad's pout away, but again - they weren't alone. He longed for Malfoy Manor over summer, where they could tell everyone who lived there and not have to be secretive.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"Not really. I just want it to be _over._ Trust me, if I were allowed to drop out without dying I would."

Vlad chewed on his eggs, taking out his frustration over the tournament on his breakfast. Harry got stuck in to his stack of bacon pancakes, wanting his seemingly never-ending hunger to abate. Vlad pushed over the blueberry jam before Harry asked, reminding him the vampire had always paid such close attention to his habits. Dumping a big pile of it on his sweet waffles, he felt sated now he had his meat fix and sugar fix. For now at least.

"I think I'm gonna spend some time with the Thestrals. You want to come?"

"Sure. Kitchens?"

He nodded, both of them disappearing in the tide of students mostly heading in the other direction toward food. Two visits in as many days, the elves were even more excited to see them when Vlad requested the meat for the Thestrals. Harry took a basket loaded with enough food that they could stay out until dinner time, carefully placed it in Vlad's backpack and the two used a side door to get out on to the grounds.

The same way Harry felt at home with Samael, it was clear Vlad felt the same way around the death-rattling draconic horses. It certainly seemed they knew the two were closer than last time, treating Harry as affectionately as they did Vlad. One of the foals nudged his leg, rattling in what Vlad said was a happy way when he touched its sharp beak nose.

The picnic basket became Harry's favourite thing come lunchtime, leaning up against a wide tree trunk together sat on his old cloak to eat lunch. Vlad was lighter, happier out in the woods with Harry and the Thestrals and it showed as he smiled his way through cold chicken sandwiches and some pastries. Harry easily ate twice as much as him, but that wasn't unusual.

Given the fact nobody had ever come near the Thestrals when they were there, Harry felt fairly secure to kiss him without fear of being caught. Vlad didn't argue, but Harry hadn't really expected him to.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realise there would be people here."

A dreamy, quiet voice jolted Harry, he and Vlad pulled apart to see a blonde girl petting one of the Thestrals.

"Interesting aren't they? So many judge them. Much like they would you I suppose, being a vampire."

Vlad's eyes widened as they stumbled upright, brushing forest floor debris from his trousers.

"Uh. Do I know you?"

"No. Not yet anyway. My name is Luna. You're Harry Potter of course."

"Uh. Vlad. How do you know I'm-"

"A vampire? I'm not quite sure. I just do."

Luna continued greeting the Thestrals, who seemed as friendly and fond with her as they did Vlad.

"Uh, Luna? Would you mind not telling people about what you saw?"

"Why would I do that? It's not their business."

She didn't look directly at anyone, more looking around them and up at the sky.

"I won't tell anybody you're a vampire either, if you were worried."

"Well... thanks Luna."

Both of them were pretty thrown by the girl Harry vaguely recognised as a Ravenclaw now he thought about it. Still, it wouldn't do to upset her since she now knew too much. They left rather awkwardly as dinnertime approached, but Luna just waved and smiled vacantly as though there hadn't been a lot of tense silence.

"Well that was strange."

"Mhmm. Still, anyone the Thestrals like is ok in my books. They have a good judge of character."

Vlad let the awkwardness go, and Harry was content to follow his lead on that. The excitement of the upcoming task had everyone staying up late, which grated on Harry's nerves as he waited to be able to join Vlad on his bed, finishing what had been disturbed earlier in the forest.

"Stay safe tomorrow. I'm not sure I can search the whole lake to rescue you in time."

Vlad may have answered, except Harry kissed him again and whatever he had been thinking previously was clearly totally gone. He would have been concerned before, but now he was even _more_ attached to Vlad, it was even more terrifying to know he was facing tasks that could quite easily kill him.

-YDHP-

 **I'm not sure I didn't introduce Luna before or not, so if it's a repeat occurrence sorry (I don't think it is though). But now I'm sure they've met her at least.**

 **Now up next - second task!**


	50. Second Task

**YokaiAngel - thank you!**

 **You - that totally works. I don't doubt you guys can tell which reply is for you, but it's confusing for me! And yes, Luna is the best.**

 **miastmisty - thank you! I'm glad I didn't repeat myself with her.**

 **AnimeNerdX - yes! Second task time! I'm excited, this was one of the parts I looked forward to writing a great deal.**

 **Fangirlfriend2 - Vlad isn't stunted, he's powerful but nothings changed yet. It's worth remembering Vlad is almost fifteen, so only just over a year off transforming into a vampire which is when he gains a whole new set of powers.**

 **Two celebrations here! Last chapter brought Chosen Two - Year 3 &4 up to over 10,000 views! And we have officially reached 100 total chapters! You guys make it worth it, thank you!**

-YDHP-

Woken at the crack of dawn by Phantom licking his eyelid, Vlad cracked open his eyes and batted away the furry creature. Harry was still fast asleep against his chest, a fact that often meant Vlad woke up smiling. He shook Harry awake, knowing they needed to be seperate before long as everyone would be up early for the second task.

"Morning."

"Yep. We gotta get up."

Harry hummed under his breath, the hand previously on Vlad's stomach ghosting downwards to the usual result of Harry's proximity. What Vlad wanted to say was that realistically, they didn't have time. What came out was a considerably more unintelligible sound, protests dying under Harry's already-knowing touch.

The fact Harry let Vlad touch him at all was intoxicating, and he _loved_ the way Harry hissed in pleasure. He could be speaking Parseltongue for all Vlad knew, but the sounds were beautiful either way.

"Mmm. Now it's a _good_ morning."

Chuckling to himself, Vlad shook his head and basked in his mates scent for a few seconds before forcing himself to move, to ensure nobody else was awake yet to invade the secrecy of their relationship.

"Clear."

Harry slipped out at Vlad's whisper, both heading to the bathroom to brush their teeth, shower and dress before Draco and his werewolf senses were awake. Vlad had to put the garlic-awful champions swimming attire on under his clothes - he _wasn't_ walking down to the lake in vest and shorts. The Gillyweed Harry acquired for him went in his shirt pocket, the golden egg in his backpack and the two of them stole down to breakfast.

It was still rather early, the majority of people in the Hall Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students, or Cedric's friends. Vlad scanned the Gryffindor table, finding very few students awake. Even George Giles, the earliest of early birds, was sleeping in that day it seemed.

"Wotcher! Merlin it's early. Y'alright Vlad?"

Skin still humming from his mates touch, Vlad nodded around his mouthful of porridge. He was being careful not to eat too much, as it often made him feel nauseous to swim right after eating but he was hungry, and they wouldn't be swimming for at least an hour yet. Tonks was clearly dispatched to 'collect' Vlad, but it was so deserted she sat down next to him.

He didn't want to leave Harry alone, but luckily Harry clicked and had an idea anyway and pointed vaguely towards Slytherin.

"Krum is leaving too, I'll go sit with Ingrid."

"That works. Here, take my bag? I don't want to leave it in the changing tent."

Harry took the backpack with a smile, walking over to the table beneath silver and green. Many of the students gave them passing glares, but people like Blaise, Theo and Ingrid were perfectly cordial to them and the Durmstrang students either side of Viktor both gave them gruff morning greetings.

"Try to almost die again little bro."

"I'll do my best Ingrid."

That was basically wishing him luck - she had said _almost,_ not actually die. Harry didn't take long to start eating more meat-based nutrition, talking amicably with Ingrid as the champions were carted off to the tent waiting for them on the edge of the lake.

"How is Ingrid meant to get to the task? She can't cross running water."

"Conveniently, the Slytherin and teachers stand has the only walkway. Technically it's for the judges table, but when Karkaroff was laughing that your sister couldn't come it was quickly rearranged by a couple of Ministry officials who are terrified of them biters who keep an eye on you."

"Oh, _that_ is poetic justice."

Tonks winked, taking a step back while the champions all headed in to their individual cubicles to change - or in Vlad's case, just take off the covering layer. Madam Pomfrey was present, handing each of them a vial of something. After the mishap post task one, Vlad was reticent to just drink it.

"What's this?"

"Sort of like pepper up. It's to stop you getting hypothermia in the lake."

Madam Pomfrey was specifically aware of his special needs when it came to medicine, so he trusted her enough to down it. It tasted like wet cardboard, but he felt the tingles as heat spread along his skin, then retreated until it was needed. Handing the vial back, the four champions were left to prepare, each given a wand holster to strap to their legs to allow them to swim. Not really needing it, Vlad fumbled with the straps and felt scrawny next to Cedric and Viktor's more adult-built bodies.

Until he remembered Harry appraising him, openly stating he liked Vlad's body. That suited him just fine.

Left for several minutes while the judges and officials bustled about, the four champions shared wishes of good luck. Someone lingered nearby, ensuring they weren't sharing cheats or offering to throw their own scores. Vlad expected that was down to his and Viktor's public break up.

"Right. Nobody drown and we're all good?"

"Nice, Cedric."

"I think ve vill all do fine."

Viktor squeezed his shoulder, winking where the officiator couldn't see. The difference between that and Harry's touch was now more acute - now he knew how it felt to touch his mate, others felt stranger, almost unpleasant. Still, Viktor was a friend so Vlad wouldn't shrug him off. Fleur smiled at them both, giving her swim gear a look of disdain as they loitered waiting.

The sounds of students began to come from outside, so the time was nearing. Vlad wanted to go outside and look at Harry some more, but they weren't allowed to leave yet. Clutching the Gillyweed in a fist within his shorts pocket, he was cripplingly nervous about either drowning or failing. Not because he wanted to win, but since they were apparently looking for something they would "sorely miss", he ought to find it.

"It's time."

Feeling singularly ridiculous, short and awkward all at once as they headed out, the Champions were all turned around to be 'presented' to the crowds. Vlad's eyes scanned them for one person only - Harry. Green eyes were fixed on him, a smile that made his heart flip as he and several others cheered for Vlad. He spied the Weasley twins holding a banner with his name on.

 **DON'T WORRY VLAD THERE'S NO DRAGONS UNDERWATER**

He had a vague notion Ingrid probably knew about it... perhaps it was even her idea. Most spectators were cheering for their school champion, and Vlad was surplus to requirements. But Harry was rooting for him and Vlad didn't need much else in his unlife.

"The champions have exactly one hour to search the Black Lake, find their loved one and return to the surface!"

It was a paltry summation of their task - if that was all there was to it, they wouldn't need an hour. There was bound to be something or other in their way.

Wait. _Loved one?_

Placing the Gillyweed in his mouth, the loud bang to signal the task beginning sending all four of them diving off the platform. He had to fight to swallow the slimy, disgusting substance and felt it rip through him quickly. Sharp pain had him clapping hands to his neck, except his hands were now webbed. As were his feet. And the pain in his neck had a strange source - now he had _gills._

Starting to get dizzy, Vlad swallowed some water and felt it pass through his new anatomy to pass oxygen through his system. The webbing on his limbs increased his speed, and his vision was far better than he expected as he looked around. Small speedy creatures zipped past his vision, and Vlad was glad when he turned to see. Fleur was in trouble already, surrounded by nasty little squid-like creatures. Grindylows.

He remembered those - they didn't like other magical creatures. Vlad was probably the worst person to rescue her, but couldn't leave her there trapped regardless of the time limit. Swimming over, the little critters spied Vlad and made a beeline for him. As soon as Fleur - with a BubbleHead charm over her mouth and nose - was free and swimming off, he stunned the cloud of tentacles with an Immobulus charm and figured he ought to get going.

They had been given a rough indication of which direction to go, but no longer totally sure which way was which anymore, Vlad caught a flash of blonde hair and followed Fleur. He had never appreciated how **deep** the lake ran until he was trying to find the depths, seeing what looked like shipwrecks and broken rowboats along the cavern-like walls between tunnels. It sloped downwards, so while there were little platforms cut into the rock and sand around them, there was much further to go.

This wasn't nearly as much fun as swimming with Harry had been.

Vlad could feel that anti-freeze style potion working, warmth from his bodies core keeping him from getting stiff, chilled limbs as he worked his bizarre webbed hands and feet. He couldn't see Fleur. Or Cedric. Or Viktor. Or anything but fish and water and more algae. Fumbling for his wand for this particular spell, he struggled with the non-dextrous flippers and currents.

"Point me."

His wand spun, pointing North from where he was and that told him he was going the right way. Shoving it back in the holster, he looked for any hints but nothing jumped out. Having no idea how long he had been down there meant he had no clue how long the Gillyweed would last - he could substitute a bubble head if he had to but it wasn't his preferred method. Diving down some more, Vlad found some ocean-floor flat surface and swam along it.

 _There._

It was eerie, four floating bodies held by what looked like a crude binding of seaweed to some ocean debris. They looked to be asleep, but the water gave them a sickly green pallor and nothing gave a hint of how _they_ were breathing. Vlad recognised the blonde hair, guessing the smallest was related to Fleur. The girl Vlad knew to be Cedric's new girlfriend, Cho Chang and the older male bore a strong passing resemblance to Viktor with harsh features most forgot softened in a smile easily.

As for Vlad's rescuee, well apparently George Giles hadn't slept in. _Why_ she was his 'sorely missed' person was anyone's guess, but perhaps she had volunteered for the excitement. It wouldn't surprise him.

Vlad just about leapt out of his skin when a shark cut through the water... A shark? They weren't native to the lake. Squinting, he spied a champions outfit and legs before making out arms. Viktor had turned his head and neck into a sharks head. Vlad found himself laughing, especially when Viktor spotted him, waved, indicated his watch before biting clean through the seaweed holding his relative and swimming off with him.

Cedric appeared shortly after while Vlad had been puzzling about George, grabbed his girlfriend and swam away quickly. Vlad suspected time was wearing thin, casting a glance around for Fleur in hopes of being satisfied for her (he vaguely remembered her mentioning one) little sister. Using a neat Diffindo charm to sever the seaweed holding young George in place and swam up to grab hold of her.

He began to worry - what if there were more creatures down here that attacked the Veela? He couldn't leave the young girl... As he severed the binding holding her down, there was a sudden buzz of activity all around him. Until now he hadn't realised they were lingering, loitering, edging closer. The slash across his cheek got his attention, the hand not holding George reaching up to find blood exiting his skin in a gloopy, water-borne fashion.

The Merpeople didn't want him there, and that was clear. It also compounded his worry for the young blonde - if she _was_ Fleur's sister, she too was part Veela. More Merfolk were edging in, so Vlad cast one last look for Fleur, grabbed the other little girl and swam off. He couldn't outswim them, especially not with just his legs while his arms were around unconscious pre-teens.

Fleur finally came into his vision, reaching for the girl in his left arm and she too was bleeding from a sharp cut across her arm. One of the Merpeople bashed into her and her sister fell from her arms, dropping quickly with nothing to hold her up. Fleur took another deep cut across her shoulder, and he knew she would struggle to go after her sister. Vlad held up George and pointed up, hoping the silent message got through. Fleur nodded and grabbed George, both using a watery Depulso to deter the Merfolk.

Satisfied, he turned and dove after the blonde girl, holding out a hand to 'summon' her to him when he felt the Gillyweed beginning to wear off and slowing him down. Thankfully, the charm worked and as soon as he had a hand on her, Vlad turned and saw _they_ were closing in again. Who the hell had decided this was safe to put _any_ creature in?

The webbing on his hands and feet were gone, and the time it would take to replace closing gills with a bubble of air was time he may not have. Searching for something he could possibly do to get to the surface faster, Vlad held the young girl more securely and wondered just how dangerous it was to levitate oneself underwater.

Still, it was Wingardium Leviosa or drowning as the Merpeople killed him. A sharp pain along his shin made the choice for him. Feeling the swoop of updraft, he finally saw light filter through the water and ended the spell, swimming the last stretch and gulping down air rapidly as soon as he broke the surface. By sheer chance, they came up right by one of the stands ladders. Coughing told him the young girl he had a hold of was coming round, thankfully alive and unharmed as he pulled them both up on to the platform.

"Gabrielle!"

Fleur dropped down next to them, the cuts on her face not even healed. Vlad peered over the water, seeing no sign of the angry mob that had chased them.

"Thank you Vladimir."

"No problem. Are you alright?"

"Honestly! Will you ever do a task without getting hurt Mr Dracula?"

Madam Pomfrey threw a massive towel around him, covering up his dark blood for the most part and healing his face quickly. He saw Cedric and Viktor both back and also wrapped in huge towels, unscathed and with their 'hostage' nearby as they came over to Vlad.

"You're alright! Fleur came up and said you guys were attacked?"

"Mmm. Creatures don't like other creatures. Was George alright? Where is she?"

Fleur pointed to one of the other medics, who was treating a damp but grinning George Giles. Aside from he and Fleur, everyone seemed alright. A sudden impact knocked an _oof_ sound from him, instincts telling him Harry was part of it. His brain eventually realised Hermione was the other half of it.

"Thank Merlin you're alright!"

Madam Pomfrey eventually shooed them off so she could fix his other injuries. Vlad just fixed eyes on Harry, basking in his mates presence and not even noticing the pain of cuts and scrapes being closed up.

"Any dizziness? Nausea?"

"No. I don't need blood replenisher, being underwater slowed the bleeding enough. Is Fleur alright?"

"Yes, yes. If you hadn't sent her up when you did, she may have been slowed down too much and the story be different."

The little blonde girl was barely up to Vlad's waist, and it became obvious she only spoke French fluently, but she came over and thanked Vlad all the same before scurrying back into her sister's outstretched towel-hug.

"Now off to get dressed while those pesky judges deliberate. You two can wait outside, he won't be long."

Harry and Hermione knew better than to argue with the scary nurse, loitering at the entrance to the Champions tent. Vlad happily dumped off the sodden swim gear in the safety of his cubicle, back in clothes that covered him properly rather than vest and shorts. When he exited, Viktor held out what Vlad could smell was warmed pumpkin juice with a grin.

"Thanks."

"You are velcome."

"Who rescue? You don't have any brothers or sisters, I know that much."

Viktor nodded, beckoning the other man over and Vlad felt intensely scrutinised.

"Vlad, meet my cousin Adrian. Adrian, this is Vlad."

"Oh, your little boyfriend. Didn't realise he was quite so baby faced..."

"Adrian, ve aren't dating anymore. I told you that."

Vlad felt progressively more awkward, somewhat glad he wasn't in a long term relationship with Viktor since so far, his family didn't seem to think much of him.

"Oh yes, you did."

Shifting awkwardly, he saw George looking dry and confused as she loitered nearby.

"So... cousin. Girlfriend. Sibling. Why was I down there?"

"I was about to ask the same thing. Why did you agree to it?"

George shrugged, staring very intently at Vlad for a second or two before blinking.

"They said it was about my brother."

* * *

The hour Vlad was down in the lake felt like the longest hour of his life, and Harry was about ready to bolt out of his seat. When the hour ticked over and Krum and Cedric were back, but there was no sign of Vlad or even Fleur... he half contemplated diving down there himself. Only Hermione kept him from doing it.

Fleur appeared, ten minutes late and covered in blood. Bizarrely, she was holding Georgina Giles and frantically pacing as she stared at the water - she wouldn't even let the medics heal her more than a nasty gash across her stomach, and Harry reckoned what she said when they wouldn't let her back in was not too friendly.

There was palpable relief when Vlad's head broke the surface of the water almost ten minutes later, despite some bleeding scratches he was well enough to get up on the wooden platform with a young blonde girl that Fleur all but leapt on .That was all the time Harry would wait, he and Hermione dashing down and around to get to Vlad.

If Hermione hadn't been there, Harry suspected he may well have kissed Vlad regardless of eyes on them.

He was starting to understand Vlad's loitering when Harry was sick - waiting outside the tent while he was being checked over and getting dressed was _torture._ Especially when the tent was ssoundproofed to stop anyone eavesdropping on who was in there.

"He's alright Harry."

"I know... I just didn't realise I could care more until recently."

Ingrid, accompanied by several Gryffindors who wanted to know Vlad was alright appeared, tapping her heel impatiently when Harry explained why they were waiting. Tonks stepped out of the tent, looking surprised to find the entourage waiting - the other champions friends and fans were still in their seats waiting for the scores.

"Ah, Ingrid. Just who I was coming to get. Just you mind, but nobody panic. Vlad's fine, just need her for a tick."

His boyfriend had better have a **damn** good reason for leaving Harry worrying but not Ingrid. Even if it was obvious she secretly cared a great deal, green in a sea of red and out there despite the difficulties it engendered.

They came back out with the other champions, looking a little confused but most people's attention was diverted to the judges table as scores were apparently ready. Vlad shot him a look that said he would hear everything later, and that would have to do.

There was a current of outrage amongst three of the four champions - on Vlad's behalf - when he came last.

"Vlad was first to the rescue site! He stayed to make sure nobody was left behind."

"And 'ee went back for Gabrielle!"

 _"Guys!_ I don't care where I placed. Everyone's alive, I'm happy."

The three older ones turned to Vlad, and it amused Harry that despite the competition, they all had a fair play thing toward Vlad, who was at a disadvantage in everything from age and training to size and lacking desire for action. The next tasks date was announced for three months time, and Vlad turned to young George for a minute.

"Remember, don't trust someone just because they are offering you something."

"I know. Thanks for saving me."

"Anytime. Go join those anxious looking twins and get some lunch."

George smiled, hugged Vlad and hurried off toward Jacob and Jason. Gabrielle Delacour was an absolute miniature of her older sister, down to the glowing golden hair. She clung to her sisters hand as they rejoined Beauxbatons, and both Cedric and Krum bid Vlad goodbye before they split off from the group too.

Vlad scanned the group they were with before he said anything, and based on his words he was checking everyone present knew he wasn't human. The other's magical heritage wasn't so secrt9, thanks to Rita Skeeter and her poison quill.

"Whoever planned that task was either monumentally stupid or just didn't care if it got us killed. The Merpeople did _not_ enjoy having other magical creatures in their territory. The only reason Gabrielle is alive is that the sleep charm they used acted as a shield too, but I don't think it held that well when I was swimming back up. They attacked me and Fleur... no magical creature should ever have been sent down there."

"Blimey, is the third task to try and bottle feed a Manticore?"

"Fred, you just gave me an idea for our seventeenth birthday."

Shaking his head at the Weasley twins, Harry kept a close eye on Vlad. He didn't look bad for someone who could have drowned and almost got killed by a mermaid or two. Even so, Harry was itching to make sure for himself, angry about the wait until night that was in the way of that.

George Weasley and his twin brother however, had other ideas and snuck out to Hogsmeade, returning with rivers of Butterbeer and mounds of sweets. The Gryffindor party went on for hours, continuing long after Harry and Vlad staggered their exits - Harry blamed overeating fudge, and Vlad the task tiring him out. Harry charmed his bedcurtains closed, changed into his pyjamas and brushed his teeth alongside Vlad, then followed him to bed.

"I was so scared earlier."

Vlad flushed lightly, tilting his head to kiss Harry softly and instantly soothing him.

"Harry, I'll always come back to you."

"I'll hold you to it. So... why was George your task?"

Vlad sighed, shifting to sit up more and reaching for his bottle of juice.

"They used some kind of spell to determine closest relatives for everyone except Cedric, because he has a girlfriend. The spell came back Ingrid for me, obviously, but she couldn't be put down there because running water currents and all... so they did it again and obviously it went wrong, because it came back as George. They were adamant it was right until I introduced them to Ingrid, my _vampire_ sister. So bats knows where they went wrong, but obviously it did."

"Huh. Weird. What happened to you and Fleur?"

"She got attacked by some Grindylows. I helped her get out, then we both went off on our way. I found the right place first, and stopped to be confused by George for a minute. Then Cedric and Viktor turned up, got their people and off they went. I was about to leave with George when I started worrying Fleur had been attacked again... a lot of things down there don't like other magical creatures. Obviously I couldn't leave Gabrielle... then the Merpeople attacked."

Vlad stopped, swallowing some more juice and grimacing - the swallowing lake water had left him with a sore throat.

"I hadn't really noticed them, at least not until they started attacking me. Fleur caught up with me and I handed her Gabrielle, then we started going. One of them knocked her up pretty bad, so I told her to take George and go because I was less hurt and Gillyweed gave me flippers. That was weird. Mostly it was all 'let's just get out _alive'..._ it was not a pleasant experience. Neither me or Fleur should have been down there."

Harry reached for Vlad's face, enjoying the way he leant into Harry's palm. The cuts and scrapes on his skin had been healed, nothing marring the smooth, youthful skin of his ageing-impaired boyfriend.

"At least you're back now, and everyone's safe."

"Yeah, that's true. I just hope that wasn't a part of the plan to test me or kill me or whatever... I would hate that they were in danger because of _me."_

Watching Vlad sleep was a rarity - he usually stayed awake to watch Harry fall asleep, and was almost always awake when Harry woke. So when he dozed off, exhausted by the second task, Harry got to observe him sleeping. His face was relaxed, and whenever Harry touched his arm a small smile crossed his features. When Harry shifted to get comfortable and their skin wasn't touching, Vlad's face scrunched up in distress until they were touching again.

That level of connection would probably have scared him a year ago, but now it was kind of _amazing._

Settling down for sleep, Harry felt Vlad's arm move to have a better hold of him and smiled to himself. Even asleep, Vlad wanted to be assured of his 'mate'. He couldn't imagine how Vlad had hidden this for two years.

 _"Report Karkaroff."_

 _"Yes my lord. The Dracula boy sustained injuries, placed last but successfully survived the Merfolk attack, and saved the Veela girls also."_

 _"Intriguing. You ensured the Merfolk were not warned of the part-creature contestants I take it?"_

 _"Yes my lord. The Imperius on Bartemious Crouch is still in place."_

 _"Good. I hear he and your own student have ceased their relationship?"_

 _"That does seem to be the situation. Sir. The Dracula boy seems to have initiated the split, but neither seem terribly distressed."_

 _Voldemort traced a pale finger around the armrest of his throne, surveying his underlings closely._

 _"The gay boy spends all his time with girls now. Waste of their attention if you ask me."_

 _"I didn't."_

 _Weasley realised his issue immediately, face falling as he watched the wand raise. The torture curse should be becoming commonplace, but the boy still dropped like a stone._

"Harry!"

He woke in pain, shivering and trembling as Vlad leant over him. His skin felt clammy, sweat dampening his t-shirt and shorts.

"Here, swallow."

A vial pressed to his mouth, the now familiar taste of pain reliever potion working into a dry mouth as he fought to swallow against trembling muscles. As the potion worked through his system, he started to relax. Vlad ran his hand over Harry's sweaty forehead, brushing the damp fringe aside with a beautifully cool hand until his fingers traced over the scar. It muted the 'connection' immediately, soothing leftover tension.

"That doesn't usually happen when you're with me. Are you ok?"

Harry nodded, sitting up stiffly to peel his sweaty t-shirt off. Vlad waved a hand over him, a cleaning spell removing sweat from his skin and a cooling charm calming him down again.

"Thanks. Turns out the Merpeople were _supposed_ to be warned about you and Fleur, but Karkaroff stopped it. Something to do with an Imperius charm and Bartemious Crouch... can you get me some water?"

Vlad barely even seemed to move, leaning out and back holding the glass of water from his bedside table. Harry swallowed it gratefully, mouth no longer drier than Samael's sense of humour. Wriggling back up to the pillows, he relaxed a little more.

"So that's why Crouch sets my senses tingling. Are you wanting to go take a bath, or do you just want to sleep?"

A bath sounded **excellent,** but Harry had zero desire to actually _move_ so it was going to have to wait until the morning. Vlad pushed a dreamless sleep at him, doubly concerned now because it was true - Harry had _never_ had nightmares before, the original reason he used to crawl into Vlad's bed. The potion began to kick in quickly, his vampire settling into their usual position with his head on Vlad's chest and a hand gently stroking his hair.

No more dreams disturbed his now-peaceful slumber, and Vlad even woke him early enough to take a good soak in the bath and still have time for breakfast. His boyfriend was wonderful really. Skin no longer came off in the bath, which Harry thought was a good thing, and when he looked in the mirror he looked _bigger_ again. Was Samael trying to turn him into the Incredible Hulk? Vlad apparently noticed too, tracing the lines of his shoulder muscles when they sat on his bed eating sweets the next night.

"Given how long Samael is, especially in proportion with his width, I would expect you to be gaining height rather than bulk. Though I suppose the musculature isn't skeletal, maybe his venom can't work changes on that. Your teeth are not _technically_ part of your skeletal system."

Harry closed his mouth, Vlad obviously realising what Harry was about to argue.

"Still... I can't complain. You look hot."

Vlad rarely spoke his compliments. They were obvious in the way he kissed Harry, the look of reverence and desire when they touched or even just when Vlad was watching him. But he was at a disadvantage. Harry _knew_ how Vlad was receptive, always would be when it came to him. Vlad was constantly wary of putting pressure on Harry, ofrocking the boat and scaring him off. So he didn't say it much, maybe worrying Harry would suddenly realise how 'gay' it was... he was definitely insecure about Harry's sexuality.

Even now, he looked surprised to have said it. Harry turned back, enjoying the cool fingers on his back where the touches tingled slightly. Vlad reached a spot Harry couldn't, which irritated him no end when he was itchy.

"Can you scratch my back? I can't reach and I'm still itchy."

"You're not supposed to scratch."

Even as he argued, Vlad's nails scraped lightly over his skin as he was unable to deny Harry. It was unfair, he knew, but Harry was already getting good at using it. Only for light hearted matters - he wasn't seeking to really manipulate Vlad. Arching slightly, he dropped his voice.

"Please? Feels good."

Sweet relief was his when Vlad complied, pulling multiple probably embarrassing sounds from Harry as the vampire scratched his irritated not-quite-scales. If Vlad hadn't stopped, Harry didn't know when he would have opted to stop him - it felt _good,_ even after the itch was alleviated.

"Better?"

"Mmm."

Vlad made a surprised sound as Harry practically jumped on him, tasting the sweet chocolate on his lips and fumbling to push Vlad's shirt off. Vlad was self conscious, and Harry considered it a personal mission to change that. At least when it was just them.

Back to class the next day, Vlad had no clear-cut instructions on the third task they were supposed to be preparing for. Neither did the other champions, which made very little sense to Harry. How could they prepare what was likely to be another superbly dangerous event?

"I guess they could tell us closer to the date. I mean, it's three months away."

Vlad was relatively calm, despite his two near-death experiences. Harry glared.

"You've almost died twice."

"Yeah, but I have the best reason ever to get back alive. Besides, Riddle wants me alive and tested according to you. So long as I keep training as much as I can... I should at the very least be able to get out alive. You and Ingrid are both going to be teaching me Healing, Bertrand's training my powers and reactions and all that boring stuff. Tonks even offered to teach me some advanced Defence magic in secret. I promise I'm taking this seriously, I've just accepted whatever is going to unfold, will unfold."

He hated to agree, but Vlad was right. There was no getting out of it, so it was a waste of mental energy to stress over it when they could be training Vlad to have a better chance of survival.

"Alright."

Samael nudged Harry with his tail, sensing his human's anxiety and wanting to seek a solution. Vlad adamantly refused to go swimming again any time soon, and Harry didn't really blame him. He would work it out eventually... maybe Malfoy Manor had a pool. If not he could always swim in the bath, or hide down in Samael's trunk again. He may have to confess to the others about the Basilisk - he would need the Malfoy elves to help feed him.

Reaching out to stroke the snakes tail, Harry smiled as Samael relaxed. Vlad was watching the two of them, looking more peaceful than anybody else likely would watching their partner touch a near seventy-foot long serpent.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. You just... you _feel_ different around him."

It was getting easier to realise Vlad was referring to his sense of Harry's emotions, apparently sensitive enough to feel that sense of calm Samael and Lily gave him. Lily was over across the floor, playfully rolling around with Phantom.

"Most people are happier around their pets, right?"

"Yeah, but most people's pets aren't _enormous_ snakes."

Vlad stood, rubbing the scales along Samael's head and he wondered how much the two tolerated each other for Harry's sake, and how much was genuine affection between vampire and basilisk.

"Your pet is a cat-not-cat who can sense magic and deter evil."

"True. And she's afraid of birds. Phantom, c'mere."

She bounded over to Vlad, leapt up to his shoulder and began rubbing against his cheek and purring. It was really rather sweet, especially when Vlad smiled at his familiar and raised a hand to stroke her thick fur.

"See? People and their pets."

-YDHP-

 **Official one hundredth chapter finished! Hope it's not pants!**


	51. Newly Discovered

**YokaiAngel - I'm glad you think so!**

 **You - what was unexpected? I mean, I'm guessing George but still.**

 **AnimeNerdX - glad it wasn't awful! As for Ron... neither? He was being tortured with Cruciatus.**

 **Since I figure many of you expected Harry in the lake, I will explain. For one, I felt it might be a little... cliche. But more strongly, I felt like Vlad would not have been in any way cooperative if Harry had been missing that morning? He would absolutely not have focused on anything but where Harry was, and his sense of where his mate was would have made the task quite unfair.**

-YDHP-

"I don't want to do this."

"You want to be able to fake a transformed vampires powers. This is one of them... according to Bertrand. Come on, I trust you."

Vlad grimaced, focusing his magic. Occlumency hadn't seemed nearly this difficult, but Legilimency was awful. It was as best he would get to replicating vampiric telepathy until he could do that, would even make it easier to master when he transformed. But Vlad didn't _want_ to invade other peoples minds.

"Maintain eye contact. Don't try and angst through it, you need to be able to look calm."

"Be quiet Bertrand, I'm focusing. Otherwise I'm just going to fail to hypnotise him."

His tutor backed off, leaving Vlad staring into Harry's eyes. Which was very distracting. Harry had beautiful eyes... _focus Vlad._ Having not practiced this yet, Vlad still needed to speak his incantation.

"Legilimens!"

He wasn't sure what happened, except that it felt like he had rammed his head into a brick wall and the wall had come out victorious. Harry was rubbing his head too, apparently feeling similar sensations.

"What the hell was that?"

Bertrand watched the two, walking over to Harry with an expression of deep thought on his face.

"I have a theory... would you mind looking up at me Harry?"

Vlad made himself not hex Bertrand for touching Harry like that, staring deeply into his eyes with fingers on his temples.

"When did you take up occluding?"

"Uh... what?"

Bertrand dropped his hands and took a step back, considering Harry like a scientist would an experiment.

"He has a solid barrier protecting his mind... much like your own Vlad, except yours was hard won through practice and study. Harry doesn't appear to have done that."

"No idea what you're talking about."

Vlad tried again, going more gently and finding the thick barrier... which, as he took a closer 'look', he could only describe as the texture of scales.

"It's because of the basilisk venom. That barrier around his mind? Identical to basilisk scales."

"Interesting."

Bertrand was the first to hear about Harry's quirks from the basilisk bite after it happened, was _probably_ aware Samael no longer lived under his home but hadn't asked.

"So I have a natural occlumency barrier from Samael? Is that good?"

"Generally, yes. It does make training Vlad's mind magic more difficult if you can't control it though."

"How would I do that? Control it?"

Bertrand tapped his fingers against his leg as he thought, clearly enjoying the engagement of new magic to learn despite his own lack of actual magical abilities.

"Part of it is protecting your mind without conscious thought, which you are _clearly_ already doing. The other is an ability to lower it, then to manipulate it to appear as though it isn't even there while only letting what you want to allow through. These are more advanced skills, the barrier protecting your mind is an advantage in itself."

"I guess, though it isn't doing a bloody good job. I'm still getting the Riddle-mares."

"Perhaps that is down to a deeper connection than just Legilimency. Such as your scar, or even genetics. I must confess this is not _my_ area of expertise, but now... I'm all you got."

"Bertrand, you're a good teacher. Don't knock yourself."

"This would still be Severus' area of knowledge."

"You can do telepathy. The two aren't _much_ different. Teach us like it's a telepathy barrier instead, don't focus on magic. Focus on the mind."

Bertrand seemed to straighten up a little, and Vlad felt good for boosting his confidence. Even if it was only a small amount. He talked Harry through dropping his defenses to let Vlad in, then imagining the barrier back up afterwards. Somehow he doubted Harry would have much trouble picturing Samael.

"Ok, try again. Gently though, don't hurt yourself."

There was something so wrong about invading anothers mind... but at the same time, Harry had no fear of letting Vlad inside his head. Which made him a little giddy inside. Turning to face each other again, Vlad tried to focus on something other than how beautiful his eyes were.

 _Legilimens!_

This time, it was easy. He didn't go delving through Harry's head, but he could feel Harry's immediate emotions, his innate trust in Vlad and his confusion about the strange feeling in his mind. Vlad withdrew voluntarily, watching Harry's face clear.

"That felt strange."

"Master Legilimens will almost always be able to invade a mind without you feeling it. Only a master of Occlumency will be able to sense it, but the hope is that _you'll_ be able to repel an intrusion, and Vlad be able to read surface thoughts without being sensed himself. All the better to fake his telepathic abilities."

Mind magic _really_ took it out of them, but Harry could raise and lower his Occlumency barrier on command and Vlad could at least perform the spell silent and wandless. It was a start.

"Same time next week, focus on keeping those barriers intact for now."

Bertrand knew Vlad had other training to be doing - magic with Tonks, potions and Healing with Ingrid and Harry, on top of homework with Hermione which was rigorous all on it's own as she insisted he be prepared for the exams he wasn't going to take. It was actually sort of nice, homework required enough attention to stop him worrying over the third task.

Harry was a _much_ better distraction though.

"Don't worry, you're perfectly safe. I checked."

Somewhere in his mind, Vlad was aware it was supposed to be the other way around. But that wasn't at the forefront of his thoughts when Harry's sharpened incisors pressed to his neck. Lovebites were more dangerous territory when both parties had bites with something extra. Though Vlad's vampiric virus wasn't actually active yet, nor did he have the fangs to inject it. Harry's venom wasn't mature either, but basilisk venom was extraordinarily destructive so that might not mean much.

Still, Harry had his mouth on Vlad's skin and sensible thoughts were not a priority. And besides, Samael said Vlad was safe. He trusted... maybe not the basilisk, but he trusted Harry's sense of Vlad's safety, and Samael definitely cared for Harry. So when Harry actually bit him, skin breaking beneath the 'fangs' he had gained, Vlad was awash with many feelings. None of them negative. He felt the bruise form, something cold sinking into his body and very little pain at all.

"My vampire."

"Mhmm."

Vlad had forgotten how to _talk._ Harry ran a thumb across the bite mark, face creasing in thought.

"Huh, weird. I can see where your skin broke... sorry about that, but it's healed over."

Vlad reached for the mark, feeling the two little bumps of scar tissue where he had felt skin tear a minute before. Focusing when Harry was still on top of him was tough, but he managed eventually.

"No clue. I don't know how basilisk and vampire mix... there's never been a vampire mated to a human, never mind a part basilisk human who _bites._ Still... I hope that stays. It's like a vampire first bite, that always leaves a scar."

"So vampires and humans don't usually..."

"No. I mean, it's happened but it's illegal. Dimidius vampires are incredibly rare. I don't know much about them, but yeah we aren't supposed to _play_ with people that way."

Harry considered his words, then kissed him.

"Less talking now."

Vlad investigated the mark in the mirror the next morning - there was a fairly unremarkable bruise (if you ignored it being from _Harry)_ but there were two faint scars there too. Harry pouted when Vlad glamoured it, but cheered up when Vlad kissed him and promised to remove the glamour when they were alone.

"You don't want anyone to know. Nor could we explain how you left a scar. You know it's there and I know it's there."

"Hmphh. Fine. Breakfast?"

As usual, Harry was distracted by his stomach. Sometimes Vlad thought Harry could eat an entire cow and still have room for pudding. Eyeing the taut muscles of his mates torso though... _worth it_.

* * *

"What if I get stuck with like... one wing and one arm?"

"Then we use this mandrake draught that makes me sneeze to be near... it'll return you to normal. You've proved you can do it, so it's time you learnt to control it. You can control your Occluding shield no problem, this is the same sort of thing. Focus your magic, don't worry about anything else."

Harry rolled his eyes, stretching his arms out at his sides to try and loosen up. He didn't love remembering the first time he transformed - he had almost blown the chance to be with Vlad. Which was madness, because they were pretty perfect together. Hermione watched jealously, having not mastered her own form just yet.

 _Wings. Feathers. Beak._

"Oh, _very_ fetching."

Harry didn't feel any different, but Hermione pointed to the mirror in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom - it was available. Peering into the cracked, dirty glass surface, he noticed his hair had all turned to feathers of the same midnight colour. She was snorting into her hand, laughing as Harry touched the feathers awkwardly.

"Alright. Instead of trying to finish the change, try to turn your hair back to normal. Baby steps."

Closing his eyes, Harry focused on picturing his normal hair, willing it back.

"Perfect."

When he looked again, his hair was all Potter mess again. So he _could_ do it on his magic alone. Focusing harder, something entirely different happened.

"Ok... _that's_ new."

Harry looked down at his forearms, the biggest expanse of exposed skin he had at the moment. Except... no skin, all scales. He was still human shaped, but everywhere he looked skin had become scales. Patterned like Samael, only a brighter hue of green. His nose felt a bit flatter, though it was still there at least. To an untrained eye, it looked like some kind of extravagant body paint experiment.

"Can I... I'm curious if they feel like scales."

Vlad held out a hand, and Harry nodded - he couldn't tell himself, everything felt different. The vampire touched his scales, oooh-ing. He wasn't sure how he knew, but Harry was sure he couldn't speak English right now.

"Wow. Identical."

"So... he has two potential animagus forms?"

Hermione asked, and Vlad continued to stare at Harry with a mix of scientific curiousity and sheer amazement.

"I don't know. It's never been heard of before, even werewolves who had become their animagus forms before they were bitten lose their old forms to the wolf. Can you turn back? Only... it's going to be hard to get around Hogwarts unnoticed like that."

Turning back to skin was much harder, but Harry eventually got it right. He was itchy as hell again for his troubles though, and left to take a bath while Vlad and Hermione continued working on her transformation. Vlad came back about half an hour after Harry was done soaking his itchy self, dressed and lazing on his bed reading. Fred and George were displaying some kind of pocket firework set in the common room, so everybody else was down there.

He suspected at some point Malfoy Manor would host them over the summer, which meant he would get an up close look.

"Any luck?"

"She managed ears and a tail... so it's progress. _Amazing_ progress, neither of you have had secondary magic spurts yet."

"Cool. What's not cool is suddenly turning halfway into a snake out of nowhere."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that. I don't think it's an animagus form... I would say it's more likely you may have an 'other' form."

Vlad was making less sense than usual.

"Huh?"

"Ok. Vampires can turn into bats. That'll be my 'other' form. No learning, no variant. Vampire equals bat. Basilisk equals... basilisk. Not like Animagi, where Harry equals bird while Hermione equals panther."

"Wait. You think I might turn into a _basilisk?_ Like, sixty foot snake with deadly eyes?"

"I don't know. It could be simply a snake 'other' form. I think only he can tell you."

Vlad was right to an extent - he was flying blind on new turf, working with the scant information he had about something that had _never_ happened before. They did that alot.

"If I'm still itchy tonight I'll be sleeping down there anyway. I'll talk to him later... and try not to do it again."

"If you do and someone sees you... blame a stray hex?"

Harry chuckled, arching when Vlad scratched _that_ spot on his back again. Even as he remonstrated him for scratching, but he also seemed to quite enjoy Harry's reaction.

"Come on, Charms homework."

"Yawn. Boring."

"It's with me now, or with Hermione tomorrow."

"Good point."

Harry jumped up and grabbed his workstuff, plopping down next to Vlad who already had his quill to parchment. Bookworm boyfriend.

"What relevance do shrinking and enlarging charms actually have? Aside from laziness and convenience carrying luggage."

"Well, small writing can be enlarged. Furniture storage. You can enlarge and reduce fires, doorways, beds, trunks... Even animals to an extent. I mean, Samael is living in one big expansion charm."

"Alright, alright. I only ever see you using it on your backpack and my trunk."

Vlad nodded, smiled and continued scratching out his essay. Loud bangs periodically emanated from under their closed dormitory door, and Harry was waiting for Hermione to hex the twins to Merlin and back for corrupting the younger students... again.

"How long until Easter?"

"Uh... A month. So it's three and a half weeks until you can eat half of Honeydukes again."

Harry tried to look sheepish, but he thought it probably came out much less apologetic than it should. A faint ringing sound started coming out of Vlad, which turned out to be his two-way diary with Ingrid inside his pocket. Vlad flipped it open, reading what it said and cracked up laughing.

"What?"

"Hang on."

He scribbled a reply, still snickering to himself before looking back up at Harry.

"Crabbe and Goyle were picking on one of the half-blood first years, not realising they had a seventh year sibling and most of our friends in green on their side. Apparently there was a rather colourful, mish-mash of curses and jinxes in a mini-Slytherin duel. Ingrid included a detailed description."

Vlad turned over the diary, allowing Harry to read the blow-by-blow account Ingrid wrote involving some kind of hybrid results, like a boils jinx mixed with jelly legs that gave Goyle little tentacles all over his face. Nobody looked to see if they were anywhere else.

As spring encroached, the evenings grew longer and dragged out the time until it was officially night, making Harry wait longer until he could jump down to Samael. The serpent was napping, but stirred almost as soon as Harry was down there, stretching himself along to bump against the wizards chest.

"Ah. You have developed."

"How can you tell?"

"Your scent has changed."

Harry immediately turned to Vlad, curious.

"Vlad, do I smell different to you?"

Never one to miss the chance, Vlad leant closer and inhaled at Harry's neck. He hummed happily, then remembered to answer.

"Now you mention it... yes. Not by much, but definitely a change there."

"So... am I going to turn into you? Am I going to become a basilisk forever? This is all so confusing for me. Not to mention itchy."

Samael flicked his tongue out, choosing his reply carefully.

"I am a Basilisk. You are more like... my human child. You will be able to transform, but you will also be able to change back. And no, your gaze will never kill."

"I'll be a Basilisk with safe eyes? You promise?"

"Yes."

"What about lifespan? I mean, you live for hundreds of years."

That was a question Harry had had for a while, wondering about his immortal boyfriend. Samael's answer stunned him.

"You were already immortal before I changed you."

-YDHP-

 **Very short chapter, but most of the time between second and third task is going to focus on Harry, since the task will focus on Vlad. Obviously. So forgive the shortness here. Expect more dreams, maybe a couple of only-Harry chapters depending how I feel. Then... the third task!**


	52. Immortal Question

**YokaiAngel - don't read fanfiction in class I will not take responsibility for your poor work ethic! Haha.**

 **AnimeNerdX - where did I score a hat trick? I'm so confused.**

 **You - that was an accident! Haha. And yeah, I figured a fair few were expecting it, but it was never my plan. And with the third task (and a chunk of the summer holidays) going to be about Vlad, and a lot of Harry's... I don't know, quirks? Unexamined or unexplained, might be time to focus on those a little.**

 **Guest - not everyone seems to have gotten that far with YD, so I haven't confirmed or denied it officially, but it's canon and I like it!**

 **Guest - thank you! I'm glad you like the story! And I left everyone hanging, don't worry.**

 **SIlvIA ROgUE - well, welcome to the club! Glad you enjoy :)**

 **Ok so I realised last week I updated a day early... what happened was I finished the chapter and got super excited, uploaded it immediately and didn't realise until Friday morning I had jumped the gun... back to Friday again now!**

-YDHP-

 _"Excuse_ me?"

Harry asked in confusion.

"I take that to mean you were unaware of this fact."

"You could say that. Why exactly am I **immortal,** if not because I am part reptile?"

"That is unclear to me."

Scrubbing his hand through his hair, Harry sighed. Of course it was.

"When you say immortal... do you mean immortal immortal or immortal like me?"

Vlad was addressing Samael, despite the fact he couldn't understand the serpents response.

"What on earth does your vampire mean?"

"Samael said can you clarify?"

Samael hissed in annoyance for Harry's shortened translation, but most of his attention was on Vlad.

"Well, I'm immortal in that I won't die of old age, or most injuries. But I could die of sickness, stakes, garlic."

"Ah. You will be more vulnerable in your Basilisk form, but only weapons crafted to kill immortals pose a true threat to you. Of which there are very few. That and chickens, obviously."

Harry relayed the answer back to Vlad, still stunned at the sudden revelation of his apparent _immortality._ It was strange to consider... all this time Vlad had been cheating death because of his latent vampirism, when there Harry was already apparently death-proof himself and unaware.

"Is this why Riddle couldn't kill me?"

"Naturally."

"Wow. I had spent so long worrying... and now I don't have to."

"That I was going to die?"

"Yeah. I've got millenia in my future... provided I survive to transform and don't get slain. Most wizards only live to between one and two hundred. Eternity without my mate didn't sound pleasant."

The more Harry learned about himself, the more it made sense why Vlad had picked him - he wasn't human, wasn't a mortal wizard. Apparently he was a part-snake immortal... _weird._

"Now I can literally say you're stuck with me forever."

Vlad smiled like that was the best thing he had ever heard, and Harry couldn't help but be infected by some of that happiness. Even though he didn't quite have the same concept of eternal living as Vlad - _he_ had always known it was to happen, Harry was very, very new at the idea of living forever. Suddenly overwhelmed and weary, Harry used his best puppy eyes on Vlad.

"Can we sleep down here again?"

"If Samael doesn't mind."

The serpent let out a weary sigh, rolled his huge yellow eyes and nodded, slithering over to the sleep room and coiling himself up the right way. Vlad let Harry lead him by the hand to lay in the spot Samael made for them, spent less time trying to get comfortable than before and ran a hand through Harry's hair when they were settled for the night. The next thing Harry knew, he was being gently prodded awake.

"C'mon, we gotta get out of here."

"But it's so much better down here than up there. Up there has homework."

"It also has breakfast."

As if on cue, Harry's stomach growled. Vlad laughed, and even Samael and Lily made amused hissing sounds. Glaring as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes, Harry sighed.

"Don't say a word. _Fine._ Back to normality."

He stopped to give Samael and Lily some affection while Vlad was ensuring they were safe to leave, though as they were always the first up - neither seemed to need as much sleep as everyone else - Harry wasn't surprised when Vlad signalled it was safe to leave.

Spying George Giles and co already up and her devouring what looked like bananas and bacon, Harry's mind went back to the second task, where somehow someone had thought a human girl was vampire Vlad's sister. Comparing her against Ingrid made him snort into his orange juice, garnering a confused look from Vlad as he ate his apple and blueberry porridge more sedately.

"So... what's on the agenda for today?"

"Nothing specific. You expended energy on _two_ partial transformations yesterday. We are taking it easy."

"Boring. Shall we go see Hagrid?"

"Fine by me. Not just yet though, he's not even here yet."

Harry hummed, biting hungrily into his third bacon roll and wondering if he were cursed with this appetite for all eternity. It would surely either catch up with him or become excessive eventually. And he couldn't really get much bigger without people wondering if he was using strength-enhancing potions. They probably already did.

"What's on your mind?"

Vlad's voice jolted him out of a food-based reverie, reminding him to get stuck in to his sausage and eggs. Checking nobody was listening in, Harry answered.

"Wondering if I'm going to have to eat like this forever. I do not relish the thought of needing enough food for two every meal for all eternity."

"You've taken this weird unknown revelation quite well."

"Yeah, I know. I think it helps that I have someone who'll understand."

Vlad smiled, handed Harry the jug of blueberry juice - ok, so he had a thing for blueberry - and began constructing a mini-pyramid out of the jam pots nobody was yet using. Downing his juice, Harry built himself a quick sandwich and wrapped it in a napkin.

"Ok, I'm done. Well. I am available for leaving the table."

"Outside? It's quiet out, I fancy a walk."

"Do you have your backpack?"

"Shrunk down in my pocket in case you start wasting away in the three and a half hours until they start serving lunch."

"You take such good care of me."

Vlad rolled his eyes, standing up once he was done with his pumpkin juice and waiting for Harry to follow him. He made a note to add more mushrooms to his food in future - fried mushrooms and black pudding improved _everything_ when one was part reptile.

"Let's go sit by the lake."

"The lake you almost died in?"

"Yep. I want Karkaroff knowing he can't scare me."

They sat by the lake, Harry tossing the last crust of his bread into the lake for the giant squid. A tentacle yanked the floating food down into the depths, the spectator stands no longer marring the view across the waters surface.

"So... where is the third task?"

"I'm not sure. Depends how much space we need for it I guess, and we get zero information until the month of the task. Even then... I don't expect much from them on it. Still, at least it's the last one. Just need to survive it."

Vlad didn't even sound all that concerned about it, though Harry knew he was nervous. They spent the morning walking about on the grounds, periodically snacking (that was mostly him admittedly) and not needing to talk much. With a relationship that had such a solid foundation in friendship first, there was no awkward silences to fill and they could just _be_ when together.

Afternoons spent sequestered away in Myrtle's bathroom allowed Harry - and Ingrid when she felt like turning up - to teach Vlad healing and potion work, which he picked up reasonably well. It didn't have a patch on his fire spells though, which Vlad was more adept than anybody at.

"Well, if you break your arm or leg you can cast yourself up. Don't use a _Reparo_ on a bone."

"Even I know that. I'm hoping not to break any bones though."

"I am very glad to hear that. Now... how to disinfect a cut?"

Vlad practiced the spells verbally and with his wand once, then had them down pat silent and wandless. Harry _could_ master spells silent and wandless, but it took many more attempts than Vlad needed. It didn't matter so much - their skills complimented each other well. If one of them wasn't great at something, usually the other was.

"Have you and Hermione done more Animagus training?"

"Not without you. In case we both got stuck... or I turned into a basilisk."

"Yeah... good point. You'll have to learn to manage your forms eventually though."

"Let's get you through the tournament first. I've got a whole lotta time ahead of me."

Vlad smiled, leant over and kissed his cheek - one of the few times he initiated the contact - before standing up and stretching. Harry found himself watching, eyeing the strip of lean abdomen exposed as the vampires shirt lifted up. Vlad noticed, cheeks flushing as he pulled down the shirt and tucked it back into his trousers.

"Spoil sport."

 _"Uniform_ code. We have class."

"Fine! You're no fun. Still... at least it's dinner after."

Vlad very maturely stuck his tongue out, picking up his bag while Harry cleaned dust from the bathroom floor off his trousers. They staggered their exits from the bathroom, making it to their next lesson without incident.

"Right! I appreciate that these are sensitive issues for more than one of you, but we have to cover the material. So, we will spend half an hour on this, then the rest of class will be a little lighter. So... who can name me one of the Unforgivables?"

Tonks didn't pick anyone out, only asking those who raised their hands - mostly only Vlad and Hermione at first. Hermione offered up the Imperius curse, and Tonks gave an overview of the curse. Undetectable... except for vampires it seemed. Complete control, could be used to literally kill someone by their own hand. A shaky hand made it's way up when Tonks asked for another, and if Harry didn't know better he would have said the teacher hesitated before calling on them.

"You know one Neville?"

"'C-cruciatus. Torture curse."

Harry was intimately familiar with that one - it filled his nightmares, tore through his pain receptors even though they were only dreams.

"Correct! Cruciatus... it's one of those spells that needs _real_ hatred behind it. To intend to cause pain that death would seem a welcome escape from."

There was little else Tonks could tell them about that one, and she called on Vlad for the last one. He couldn't repeat the incantation itself - with his wandless capabilities, there was every chance Vlad could blow a hole in the stone floor below. Or worse.

"Killing curse."

"Avada Kedavra. And that's the trifecta! Any one of these could send you straight to Azkaban, so... Don't do them. Also they cause a lot of pain anf sadness or death and destruction. So again, don't do that. Now... who's up for some fun hexes? Hmm... Vlad! And... Theodore! Up you come."

Harry distinctly heard Vlad sigh as he was called up, chair scraping on the stone floor for a minute as he went to the clear space and faced up against Theodore Nott. Nott stood zero chance, but then he and Vlad were friends which probably meant he wouldn't get seriously hurt.

"So... any funny stuff you already know boys?"

Being in the frequent company of the Weasley twins... Vlad knew _plenty._ Nott even looked a little nervous. Vlad lowered his wand, let Theodore go first and took the simple jelly-legs jinx graciously. The two soon devolved into madness, fifteen minutes of bangs and exploding lights later rendering the two almost unrecognisable.

Nott had every colour of the rainbow splattered across his face and clothes from Vlad's paintball hexes, and was stumbling about on tap-dancing feet. Vlad was brushing his constant-growing hair out of his face, and emitting animal noises instead of words, amongst other things.

"Well, that should have lifted the mood. Class dismissed! You two wait, I'll fix you up."

It was dinner, so Harry's stomach demanded he leave Vlad and save him a seat. He managed to shush it (after finding a chocolate frog in his pocket he didn't remember putting there... probably Vlad then) while he hung around outside the classroom door, in a fairly comfortable if not friendly silence with Blaise Zabini as he waited for Nott.

"Nice hex work Dracula."

"I went easy on you Theo, I hope you know that."

"Shove off. See you in Runes tomorrow."

Vlad's attention was quickly back on Harry, deep blue eyes lighting up at the sight of him and the genuine, undoubtable attraction and joy there was a heady, addictive sight. Harry almost forgot they weren't alone.

Then his stomach growled.

"You'll have to tell your secret one day Potter."

Harry looked over at Nott and Zabini, a little confused.

"My secret?"

"Yeah. How you eat like a Weasley but you're built like a house."

Harry tried not to panic. What was he supposed to say? An accidental melding of two very specific circumstances, bloodlines and Basilisk venom?

"Oh. Uh... I don't know to be honest. I'm always hungry and I filled out... I think that makes puberty my secret?"

Zabini surveyed him coolly, then nodded with a small smile playing across his thin mouth.

"Fair enough. Come on Theo. Ingrid will hex us if we're late."

Relieved as they let the matter drop, Vlad caught their attention on the way to the Great Hall.

"Thanks, both of you. I _know_ my sister's hard work."

This time, it was Nott who was smiling.

"No worries. Slytherins stick together... besides, Ingrid is funny."

"Still... I appreciate it."

They nodded shortly at him, then they separated at the doors for their individual house tables. Luckily for the Slytherin twosome, Ingrid wasn't there yet. Her usual spot was vacant - nobody was _that_ brave.

"It's weird how to most people, you and Ingrid are totally different."

"Yeah, but Ingrid let dad raise her with a sense of something to prove. I just want to enjoy the quiet time I have left."

That sounded a _little_ morbid, even for Vlad and his not-long-until-undead thing. When Harry looked at him with questioning eyes, Vlad shrugged and mumbled "tell you later."

"Which is why it's only really obvious you two are siblings when it's the Manor circle?"

"Pretty much. Easter should be good... especially since dad said in no uncertain terms I'm to be home for the summer."

"The _whole_ summer?"

"I think that's what he expects. But I can work on that... with Bertrand unable to leave the manor, it'll be easier to convince dad to let us go. Eventually."

The Hall started to fill up, so the two fell silent about Harry's still-secret safe location over the holidays. He hadn't considered how they would be separated... Hogwarts made him spoiled when it came to seeing his boyfriend. He could only imagine how much harder it must be on Vlad, including the previous two summers where Harry had been oblivious to what he should have seen all along.

"Steak!"

"Honestly Harry, you act like it's been days since your last meal... _every_ meal."

"So does Draco. Lecture your boyfriend instead."

Hermione rolled her eyes, then turned back to her werewolf boyfriend to ensure he was eating with all due decorum. Given that it was dinner at the Gryffindor table... that wasn't much. Between Harry, Draco, Ingrid and Bertrand... Vlad would probably be the only resident at Malfoy Manor _not_ eating his weight in barely cooked meat that summer. And that was only because the elves wouldn't serve them raw meat, though all four of them _could_ eat it no problem.

Huh... not a single resident would be human. Unless by some miracle they found Severus, who was still playing on all of their minds. Hard not to really, when Draco had periodic bouts of sadness and the fact they saw Moonshine sat at the Head Table every day, pockmarked and scarred and not Severus Snape at all.

Or Hermione or the Weasleys came over... which was admittedly far more likely.

"Are you done?"

Vlad was kind enough to wait until Harry washed down two steaks and a mound of potatoes with a huge slice of chocolate cake covered in butterscotch sauce. Plus enough pumpkin juice to drown a kneazle, according to Fred.

"Meat. Check. Sugar. Check. I'm good... for now."

Well... after he grabbed an apple for later. Vlad rolled his eyes but there was a fond smile across his face as he fell into step with Harry on the way out of the Hall. He really needed to ask Samael about this freaky metabolism... it was madness.

"Cover for me? I'll be back in an hour or so, but I reckon people might find it suspicious how often us two disappear together otherwise."

Vlad looked put out, but agreed. He cheered up when Harry kissed him, even helped pull Samael's trunk out from under the bed he almost never slept on anymore.

"I'll charm your curtains from the outside, you'll be able to hear who's here. The twins owe me one, I might arrange a diversion."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Hypnotised Filch to forget he saw them hiding dungbombs in a couple of the alcoves near Slytherin when I walked Ingrid back to her common room?"

"Oh Vlad, you rebel."

Vlad grinned, then indicated his head.

"The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back. Go see your lizard."

"Yes sir Dracula sir."

Harry mock-saluted, hearing Vlad close the trunk behind him. He had set it up so the flaming torches along the wall switched themselves on in recognition... must be magic.

"Wizard."

"Lizard."

"I am a serpent!"

"I know... but in English that would rhyme."

Huge yellow eyes rolled in exasperation, but Samael bumped gently against the middle of Harry's chest, eyes closing as he relaxed when Harry rubbed his snout.

"You normally have your vampire when you visit me now."

"Yeah, but that's because you're all family."

"A vampire and the king of serpents. Strange family."

"I'm a strange guy. Anyway, I'm here now so stop complaining."

Samael probably would have argued, but Harry scratched _that_ spot just under his jaw that turned him into little more than a seventy foot scaly kitten. Lily slunk over to coil around Harry's leg, and it was clear she was growing too - if she wanted, she could wrap around the whole of it and probably crush it to pieces.

Eventually remembering he was supposed to be a fearsome beast, Samael lifted his head up and turned around, leading Harry out to the sunlit 'outdoor' area to stretch out properly.

"You had a question for me? If it is about your immortality, I apologise, but I cannot help you."

Harry didn't bother asking how Samael knew he came down to ask something. Familiars were smart like that.

"Oh, no. I mean... I would love to know how that works but for now I'm still getting my head around it anyway. No, I came to ask... am I always going to need to eat so much? It's getting noticeable, and people are starting to comment on the amount of size I've gained."

If snakes had eyebrows, Harry felt like Samael would be doing that eyebrow raise that seemed to be taught to every Slytherin first day - Ingrid and Severus both had it down to a T.

"I have told you before wizard, you're still in development. When you are 'done', as you call it, you will know. However, a creature like us... it will always require sustenance. You might find eating like a real Basilisk would help."

He had considered that... just not yet.

"Maybe when I can eat in a different form... or my boyfriend has transformed. I'm not sure how much Vlad would appreciate me eating a hunk of raw meat just yet."

Samael laughed, clearly amused by Harry's probably odd thoughts. Nobody else ever had such concerns, he was sure.

"Has that answered your question wizard?"

"I guess so. I'll always need to eat more meat than a human, but this major bottomless pit thing should ease off when I'm done changing. I'm not gonna get much bigger right? I'm gonna have to buy bigger clothes as it is."

"Unsure. Worry not wizard, you will be strong like your vampire."

"I'm more worried I'll be wider than I am tall! Vlad's still taller than me."

"But he is unlikely to ever be as broad as you. Vampires, from what I understand, struggle to gain either fat or muscle size without many years of either gluttony or disciplined physical training."

Considering Bertrand - he was muscly, but four hundred - it made sense. Plus, the vampires they had met when the Dracula's blood tests were being administered had all been weedy, skinny. He wanted to ask Vlad if _he_ had ever met a fat vampire... it would probably be in bad taste though.

"Fair point. Any pointers on how I'm going to master two different forms? It would be rather un-stealthy if I was aiming for crow and ended up a Basilisk."

"As I cannot master any other form... I can only assume the key is learning to focus on your forms, so you can call forth whichever you need. Your vampire may be better advice... since he can transform to either bat or smoke. In the future at least."

"True. I need to learn to master one first. So far I can either get feathery hair or scaly skin. That would make for an interesting combination."

-YDHP-

 **I know there is much debate over Harry's height in the books... but Gerran Howell is taller than Daniel Radcliffe. So to me... Vlad's taller than Harry.**

 **And not much happened in this chapter... but it's getting there. Filler chapters have a bad rep, but if we skipped all the filler out of a story it would leave us with basically a bullet point list of major events. Which is what I have written down for Chosen Two... it's not quite as exciting that way.**


	53. Dark Dreams

**YokaiAngel - points for speedy reviewing as ever, thank you!**

 **You - that's cool, i know filler chapters aren't exciting but they are important, this one should be less filler.**

 **Almonda - thank you! Hope you didn't die of boredom catching up. And don't worry, I hated Susan too but yes, it was part of Harry's development and he needed the comparison to his perfect vampire boyfriend!**

 **I must confess I suffered horrible writers block writing all through this week. So if it's terrible I apologise. Content warnings for abusive situations... pretty much throughout. Nothing explicit but substances/violence/sexual assault is mentioned.**

-YDHP-

"That woman is insane!"

"Happy Easter to you too?"

Vlad glared, but there was no real venom in it as he dropped heavily onto his bed with a groan. Everyone had left that morning for Easter, and Vlad had just returned from his last secret lesson with Tonks that term. Apparently she was even more eccentric in private lessons than she was in normal DADA classes.

"She had me practice transfiguring furniture into things to hide behind, then shot me with bat bogey hexes because she has a twisted sense of humour. Shoot a vampire with bats."

Draco was snickering over in the corner, receiving his very own glare from Vlad. Harry approached his irate boyfriend carefully, sitting on the bed next to his prone form and Vlad immediately turned toward him, smiling.

"Is this where I find out the thing Hermione has been unreasonably giddy about for weeks is you two?"

In all honesty, Harry had forgotten they hadn't told Draco yet in that moment - he just wanted to comfort his tired looking boyfriend. Vlad was no use to the conversation - Harry touched his hair and Vlad melted in place, looking to all intents and purposes like he was asleep.

"Yeah. Hardly anyone knows though, and for now I want it to stay that way. We would have told you in summer, I wasn't trying to keep you out of the loop. Ingrid and Hermione only know because they are freakishly smart and observant. Aside from them... I think Vlad's star Quidditch player ex is the only other one to know."

Harry didn't mention the dreamy blonde girl who found them kissing in the Forest. That was too embarrassing. Draco considered his words, then nodded.

"Fair enough. Don't blame you after the madness from when him and Krum came out."

"Exactly. Besides, my life is basically for public consumption and I wish it wasn't."

"Shouldn't have survived Voldemort then."

"Yeah, totally on purpose."

Vlad's eyes had opened at Draco's comment, finding Harry's own and scanning for discomfort or concerns. Seeing he was fine, Vlad nudged his hand with his head to resume hair-petting, his powerful magical vampire boyfriend about as dangerous looking as Phantom right now.

"Hey, Vladdo! You've done the Arithmancy homework right?"

Vlad cracked an eye open, narrowing it as Draco disturbed his relaxation.

"Obviously."

"Explain question three? It just doesn't make sense to me."

Harry knew Vlad sort of wanted to tell him to go away so he could sleep, but the vampire would never turn down someone asking for help - especially someone who had tried to adamantly refuse help after being taught such a thing was a weakness for years. So he gamely sat up, rubbing tired eyes as he headed over to Draco's bed and started explaining complicated sums and formulas that made Harry's brain hurt.

"By the way, Viktor managed to get permission to use the training field to fly because he has had no time to practice. He's invited you both to join in."

Harry felt excited already - he hadn't had a decent chance to fly in a while. Draco too looked enthralled, even while he finished the homework. Vlad even looked happy, but Harry suspected that may be because he 'felt' Harry's sudden upsurge of emotions.

"Not you?"

"No no, he invited me. But I didn't want to. I'll sit in the shade with Ingrid and she will make sarcastic remarks and threaten to disembowel me for making her go outside whilst stealing my sweets. And you two will be the air with a professional Quidditch player and the Weasley twins. Plus whoever else he asked."

"Mostly Durmstrang students I expect, since most students are home for the holidays. Which is good news for library use."

"You _could_ go home and have access to a whole library with no disturbances."

Draco pouted, finishing his last equation with flourish before carefully setting aside the parchment.

"Vlad can't leave. So you _won't_ leave and Bertrand _shouldn't_ leave. So I either take Vlad's tutor for a week and a half when he needs him and spend a lot of time alone, or I stay here and complain a bit but everyone important is here."

"Gryffindor love fest. Gross."

Ingrid's voice sounded from the door as she let herself into their dormitory, followed by Fred and George Weasley who came bearing gifts in the form of a kitchen-raids worth of chocolate and pastries.

"Look what we found."

"Vampires wandering dark corridors Fred."

"Very dangerous George."

"I will hex you both."

The twins fell silent immediately, closing the door behind them and taking seats on one of the three vacant beds each. Taking one of the little cupcakes and beginning to peel the paper wrapping off, Vlad looked up at their visitors.

"So... did you come here for something in particular?"

Harry immediately didn't trust the malicious smiles on the three older students, lifting a sweet jam filled pastry from the pile as the sugary scent tormented him.

"Well, Vlad's third task is a month away"

"And he might die."

"No offence Vlad."

"Yeah, we're rooting for you"

"But since he could be dead soon"

"And since he's nearly fifteen, take that as you will"

"We decided he needs a rite of passage."

Reeling from the twins back-and-forth speaking, Harry watched as George reached inside his pocket, pulling out two large blue bottles.

"Let me get this right. You snuck into the dorms... well, Ingrid did, to get me drunk, in case I die in the third task?"

"Pretty much. Fred, the cups?"

Harry knew from Remus that Draco would probably fail to get inebriated even if he drank both bottles that now could be read - 'Firewhiskey'. But the twins didn't know he was a werewolf, so he was stuck either being visible as sober, or faking drunk.

Not to place aspersions on his boyfriend as being future prefect material, but Harry honestly expected Vlad to say no. Of course, he wasn't accounting for one thing - competitive Dracula siblings. When George had filled the shot glasses, handing one each around to everyone, Vlad and Ingrid didn't say a word to each other - just lifted it and downed the shots like they were water.

"Are we missing something?"

Vlad blew the faint smoke of his drink out like a lazy dragon, wiping his mouth and turning the glass upside down. Ingrid didn't beat him to that, scowling as Vlad smirked and turned to answer Draco.

"Dad has made us do this before. See who holds it better. Vampires can get drunk, but it has no long term effects, so we've done this since we were kids."

Everyone else looked a little thrown - that would be considered horrendously abusive and dangerous behaviour. Just because it wouldn't make them sick long term didn't make it ok. Vampires or not.

"The worst that ever happened was me falling asleep in a graveyard alone back in Transylvania. And Ingrid threw up on dad's best cape. He didn't love that. Then Ingrid left for school and we didn't do this much."

"Vlad, weren't you like... nine when Ingrid started Hogwarts?"

Vlad nodded, rolling his eyes as Ingrid refilled their shot glasses without actually touching the bottle - levitation facilitated her laziness greatly.

"Yeah, so?"

"So a drunk nine year old alone in a graveyard doesn't concern your dad?"

The vampire shrugged, downing the next shot but Ingrid beat him to the tipped glass, placing her finger and thumb in the 'L' shape on her forehead and Vlad stuck his tongue out immaturely. Vlad had never mentioned any of this before. Harry hadn't had a great childhood, but the Dursleys had never gotten a pre-pubescent Harry drunk for essentially amusement. Looking down at his own glass brimming with slightly smouldering liquid, Harry downed it and immediately hissed at the burning sensation.

He watched at least five shots of powerful alcohol disappear into each Dracula sibling before the twins got bored watching and joined in, tipsy before the first bottle was empty while Vlad, Ingrid and Draco looked totally fine. Harry had only drunk two himself, not liking the way alcohol sat in his stomach and wanting to keep an eye on Vlad's emotional state. The dorm door opened and the twins immediately threw themselves to the ground, cradling the whiskey bottles dramatically as the dorm permitted a pyjama clad Hermione.

"I knew you were up to something, I could hear them giggling from the common room!"

Knowing they were caught - and close to drunk by the time they swallowed their next shots, the twins crawled along the floor to her.

"Don't tell on us Hermione!"

"Please?"

"Get up you idiots."

They scrambled upright, hiding the bottles rather too obviously and Ingrid silently summoned the bottles from their hands.

"Do I even want to know?"

"They tried to get me drunk... think they've gotten themselves drunk and discovered Dracula hold their drink."

Hermione rolled her eyes, looking at the still mostly full bottle in Vlad's hand as Harry wondered more about Vlad's upbringing.

"I'm going to pretend I know nothing."

Draco ended up leaving with Hermione to hang out in the common room, possibly wanting to avoid notice of his alcohol tolerance. Ingrid stayed to watch the twins get progressively more smashed, eventually falling asleep in some rather inelegant positions on the floor. Vlad was very unhappy about letting Ingrid walk back down to Slytherin alone, eventually compromising by watching her get back on the Marauders Map, having scanned it to see the school was already mostly empty anyway.

Despite probably having imbibed half a bottle of Firewhiskey in total, Vlad didn't appear even slightly affected as he walked steadily to brush his teeth, then levitated the twins into individual empty beds before getting in to his own. Harry wavered about whether or not to join him, not wanting to out their relationship to the twins but also wanting to talk more about what Vlad had mostly brushed off as not terrible parenting.

"It's fine."

His thoughts must have been written on his face, as Vlad nodded towards Harry's bed and got settled into his own. It bothered Harry, left him feeling unsettled as he changed quickly and climbed into bed. He hadn't drunk much, but his stomach sat heavy. All in all, as he closed his bedcurtains to try and lessen the noisy snores of drunk redheads, Harry felt less than brilliant.

 _"I don't want to hear excuses! Find her and exterminate that half breed abomination."_

 _Salazar Slytherin waved off his underlings, each hastening to run away before he changed his mind and fed them to his Basilisk. Of course, they didn't know that would be their fate... nobody knew of Samael but him yet. His bringer of death._

 _Sorrow was dead, died at his hand when she refused to stop **consorting** with muggles or give up her daughter. Solace on the other hand, still lived. A melding of his noble pure family line and something barely more than a beast with words... unthinkable. He had set up all manner of magic around the old home where Sorrow had fallen to his wand, lest the half breed child go back in search of her mother. _

_He shuddered with nausea just thinking about such things, dwelling instead on the memories of his many attempts to correct his sister. He had tried for years, back when even as children, she had refused to listen to their parents and would play with the Muggle children outside. Their father would blame **him,** as though Salazar was supposed to control his younger sister when she was clearly defective. It was bound to happen eventually, their parents should never have tried for an heir and a spare. _

_At first he used his words, tried to talk her round in the hopes of at least avoiding being cursed by his father. When she refused to listen, Salazar tried to use his fists the way their father did to their mother. But no matter how many bruises Sorrow would rub healing balm into her face to heal, even the broken arm that, judging by her favouring the other, had never healed right... Sorrow still said the Muggles were their equals, refused to play muggle-baiting with the other children that came over while their parents wanted to 'socialise'._

 _Salazar didn't understand what that meant as a child. All he knew was that he was favoured by many over many because of his eloquent speech, magical abilities and rare ability to speak to snakes. So when his father summoned him to the 'adult room' at ten years old, Salazar went excitedly, the envy of all the other children._

 _What he saw confused him. Only one of the adults there was a woman, and the men were laughing and jeering, taking turns to grope at her and passing her around the room like a ragdoll. His father made him stay, made him watch and told him_

 _"This is what Muggles are for. But if you don't fix your sister, **they** will."_

 _Salazar didn't understand much of what was going on, but the woman was crying and when they were done with her, she was left on the ground as they walked over to the drinks table. Sorrow was only small... that didn't seem right._

 _His father extended invitations for him to join the adults again, but Salazar refused, claiming studies and wondering what to do about Sorrow. When their mother sent her away to a finishing school for witches to ensure she would be refined for when she was sold off in marriage, Salazar felt safe to leave._

 _He found others skilled in the craft of magic, one of whom he found himself almost - **almost** \- questioning his views on magic and muggles for. __But when Godric suggested they allow just anyone with a flicker of magic into the walls of the school they, Rowena and Helga built to mould young minds, Salazar - with his fathers words ringing in his ears - tried to sway them to his side. Even ensured that any who he took to educate himself were pureblood. Only one or two indiscretions with immense magical control and power - and at least half blood - slipped through the cracks._

 _The other three valued lesser qualities while he chose cunning and ambition. True Slytherin traits. When his father said he had purchased his wife, some pureblood wench who barely dared look him in the eye, Salazar focused on siring his heir and ensuring his hidden chamber in the school continued to go unnoticed. He found the old works of Herpo, successfully hatched his very own Basilisk to match the serpents on his house and family crests._

 _When his wife fell pregnant at last, Salazar was met with the unpleasant news of Sorrow still embarrassing their family. Not even merely half bloods, no, she had to go and lower herself to engagement to a Muggle._

 _He made one last plea to Sorrow, but she didn't listen. Didn't respond correctly even when he struck her, bones hitting bones making a sickening crunch. Their fathers words, his talk of how his friends would 'fix' Sorrow came back to him. So Salazar took the last chance he had to make his father proud of him. She wasn't small now. It was ok._

 _To his utter frustration, Sorrow dealt the final blow to the Slytherin name and not only mated with the muggle, she bore his child. He tried to ignore it, to make it clear she was not a true member of their clan but the rumours circulated. He knew people were laughing at him. It threatened his reputation with Hogwarts._

 _Solace had to die._

Harry barely had time to lean over the side of his bed before he was violently sick, stomach rebelling angrily after he had eaten far too much cake and drank the Firewhiskey that disagreed with him slightly. It wasn't until he could heave no more that Harry realised there was a bucket there, the vomit disappearing a second later and a cool hand touched his sweaty forehead.

"Vlad."

His stinging throat could barely make the word, but he gasped the name out weakly and hoped Vlad wasn't disgusted when he grabbed his boyfriend in a desperate hold. He didn't have to tell Vlad it was bad, Vlad could tell. A cleaning charm removed the acrid taste from his mouth, sweat from his skin and Vlad carded one hand through his hair.

"Here. Water and stomach settler."

The dosed water felt heavenly on his dry mouth, soothed his sore throat and settled his tumultuous stomach at last. There was a quiet sound as Vlad placed the glass on his bedside table, then he sat next to Harry and let him cling to him again. There was a whisper of a kiss across his temple, soothing him further as he soaked in Vlad's unique scent.

"I really wish I wasn't related to Salazar Slytherin."

Vlad didn't push him, just occasionally gently prompted Harry to talk and stayed solid and comforting at his side. He didn't react much as Harry spoke, which Harry actually appreciated - he needed to get it off his chest and Vlad wasn't showing obvious distress that would have made him think twice about sharing.

"That must have been awful. But Harry, he's not who you are. Nobody is their ancestor from a millennia ago. You aren't Salazar Slytherin any more than you are Tom Riddle. You are Harry James Potter, and you are not evil because of who your great great great great grandfather was. You should see **mine."**

Harry couldn't help but chuckle lightly at Vlad. He always knew how to calm Harry down, scratching lightly at his back in that spot Harry generally melted from. Needing a distraction and still thinking about bad families, Harry turned to his boyfriend.

"Are you really not worried about your dad giving you alcohol as kids?"

"Kind of normal vampire parent stuff. And better than when he tries to make me drink blood. You're using human rules for non human family... my dad was the Impaler of Wallachia, giving his own children alcohol is pretty tame. It also means me and Ingrid never have the whole taboo secret drinking thing. Been there, done that and nobody can get me drunk to impair my judgement. Please, don't worry about me Harry."

"Tough. My job to worry about you."

Harry yawned, and Vlad practically conjured up the dreamless sleep. Harry didn't bother arguing - he would cut his own eyes out before he had a nightmare like that again.

-YDHP-

 **Consider this the introduction to the darker themes of Chosen Two coming out. Though if it's triggering for anyone reading, there will be little (if any) further mention of sexual assault through the story from here.**


	54. Loose Ends

**YokaiAngel - aren't they sweet? I could write nothing but Harry/Vlad fluff all day every day**

 **You - Draco would have found out by the summer anyway, but I think Harry was happy not to be hiding it from his pseudo-brother. Dark themes, yeah, I mean the story is heading to some darker times. It's gonna be fun.**

-YDHP-

"Come on, you can do this."

"Easy for you to say. You turn sixteen and your transformation powers just happen."

Vlad chuckled, irritating Harry and Hermione as they tried to focus. He had a book open on his lap, studying for the Third Task. They had discovered what it was... sort of. Hard to miss with twenty foot tall hedges grown across the grounds of Hogwarts. All the champions knew was that they had to get through it, the first to the middle where the Triwizard cup the winner. Their points only translated to a head start in the maze now, and they knew there would be obstacles.

What the obstacles were remained a mystery, hence Vlad's broad study material - next to him were books on magical creatures, trick-spells and, after the egg, riddles and logic.

"Relax. Just let the form take over, it's just another part of you."

Easier said than done for Harry, when more than one thing was a part of him. How did Vlad describe it when he was talking about bats and smoke again? Granted, he got it from Ingrid and Bertrand.

"Bats are for flight, so we think flying. Smoke is for stealth, and we let our body detach like dust in the wind."

 _Think flight. Think escape._

His whole body felt a little strange. Then everything was bigger and in shades of grey and when Harry tried to ask if he had done it, all that came out was a cawing sound. He was about to do a little avian victory flap when he realised there was a _very very big_ panther next to him. Immediate panic response set in and Harry flew up, hiding himself safely on Vlad's shoulder and turning his head to keep an eye on the panther currently inspecting her paws with amazement.

"I wasn't expecting you to both nail it simultaneously. Hermione, no thoughts about eating Harry please."

One cool vampire hand came up to Harry's feathered head, fingers running gently over him and exploring the contours of his bird body. It felt soothing and soft, and Vlad laughed gently when the bird nuzzled up to his hand.

"I'm just gonna check on Hermione. I promise you're safe."

Vlad kept his voice low, knowing Harry's smaller body wouldn't enjoy if he was loud when his mouth was so close. The panther snorted when Vlad stepped closer, but when he reached out a hand she sniffed it before licking his palm.

"Ok, that's gross. Glad to see you kept your mind. Now can either of you turn back? I have the spell if necessary, but if you master changing back alone then it's a big step to total Animagus control."

Harry cawed, not wanting to get down and try while there was a huge predator prowling the ground. Vlad shook his head fondly, sitting back down and shifting Harry to perch on his arm while Hermione paced around the floor, flicking her tail and flexing her paws. Eventually she sat down, feline eyes scrunching up in a very human concentration face.

"Ahh!"

Hermione managed to change back... and both Harry and Vlad covered their eyes. Harry didn't come out from under his wing until Vlad told him Hermione was dressed again.

"Let's _never_ discuss this again."

"It's normal to forget your clothes sometimes. Just means your focus wasn't a hundred percent. So long as you brought back all your human body parts, that's a brilliant run. Now Harry's turn."

Harry _really_ hoped he got his clothes back with the transformation. He wasn't about to have the first time Vlad saw him totally naked be in front of Hermione. That was just embarrassing. Taking a chance, he swooped off his boyfriends arm and landed in an empty cubicle of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Trying to remember what his human(ish) body felt like, Harry tried to imagine having proper arms and legs again.

"That's just showing off."

Hermione sulked as Harry stepped out from the cubicle, all parts back and accounted for as he patted down his hair - apparently ruffling his feathers translated back to his hair which was sticking up even more than usual.

"Ok... now what?"

"Now you eat this chocolate" Vlad tossed them each a bar of Honeydukes "and take a breather, then you try again. We'll call it a day if you haven't managed in an hour."

Only a Dracula could recline and look elegant on conjured seating in an abandoned toilet. His internal voice that said that sounded _very_ similar to Ingrid, Harry noticed. Did everyone have an internal Slytherin vampire voice? Shrugging to himself, he got stuck in to the chocolate. Vlad had gotten him the one with fudge pieces and crunchy bits in... his boyfriend was too good to him.

Harry sat back down in his spot, eyeing Hermione as she patted herself down to check for stray cat hairs or maybe a tail. He wasn't sure. Closing his eyes, Harry focused on the feeling of flight and small again, already dreaming of taking flight outside again sometime.

"Stupid show off wizard."

"Now now Hermione, Harry managed his first change before you. That's technically a head start. Harry, can you change back?"

A minutes intense concentration later, and Harry had opposable thumbs and a glaring female friend. Plus all his clothes intact.

"Ok, no more today. My wings hurt, and I don't even _have_ them right now."

"It should get easier, it's like... swimming. Your body will learn. I think. Hermione, you're up."

Harry dropped down next to the space Vlad made for him, leaning over to peer at the book he was reading in preparation for the third task while Hermione attempted to repeat her transformation.

"That's a freaky looking thing."

"Chimera. I've gone straight through from actual studying to reading for fun now. As much as I enjoy watching your cute little concentration face."

"Get a room!"

"Alright, we'll just leave you here to possibly get stuck in a half Animagus transformation with no help... just so Vlad can call me cute."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry."

They continued talking over the magical creature book, Vlad's hand sliding through his to link their fingers together while Hermione sat in stony silence focusing on turning back into a giant cat. At least she hadn't turned half way... Harry tried not to laugh at the image he had of Hermione with a tail and a cats face. Maybe even coughing up hairballs...

"Nice work! Hold still, I want to measure and draw you for comparison to a real panther."

Vlad got up, sadly releasing Harry's hand as he knelt next to Hermione, running his hand from snout to tail tip with a Measuring Charm. Then he sat back down, sketching Hermione's facial shape, paws and tail with the most detail. Harry took a closer look at her body, finding the midnight black fur was actually speckled with light chestnut hints the exact colour of her human hair.

"Alright, change back when you want. We won't look this time, just in case."

He won a snarl from the panther, but then he turned to the pile of books and found one on.. big cats. Apparently he had come prepared for this occurrence.

"Don't you have one on birds to check me out?"

"No need. Vampires... we grew up surrounded by birds of death. Aside from the green eyes and messy feathers on your head, you pass as a perfectly ordinary black bird. And let's be honest, nobody else is looking that close to know the difference."

By the time Hermione turned back a few minutes later, Vlad had ascertained that she too passed for an ordinary adolescent female panther. She oooh-ed at Vlad's drawing, stole the book and cats and left the bathroom to presumably go and brag to her boyfriend she had successfully transformed.

"Werewolf and big cat. Should be an interesting mix."

"Says the vampire dating a part Basilisk."

"True."

Vlad barely managed to lock the door from where Harry pressed him down along the conjured sofa, not even noticing the books toppling to the floor as Harry kissed him. They were regretfully disturbed by Moaning Myrtle, who burst out of a toilet with an upsurge of water, successfully killing the mood as Vlad scrambled to collect the books before they became water damaged and the librarian skinned him alive.

"I didn't know you could draw."

"I've never really indulged it as a hobby. Dad used to set fire to my drawings and then give me books on coffin maintenance or fang hygiene."

Harry scowled, more and more disliking the sound of Vlad's father. Vlad caught his annoyance, whether by bond or by facial expression he didn't know and touched his arm, getting his attention.

"Look, I know he sounds terrible. He kind of is... but my dad loves me. And Ingrid. He just has an abysmal way of showing it. He's basically raised us alone since mum left when I was barely out of nappies, and in our world child rearing is all a woman's work. So that's a big deal."

"I don't have to like that he gave you alcohol or that he wouldn't let you draw."

"No, you're quite right. But I don't want you worrying my dad doesn't _care_ about me, you just gotta remember he is _Count Dracula._ "

Vlad kissed his forehead where Harry had his eyes downcast to glare sulkily at his lap, prompting the wizard to look up at him.

"Honestly, I'm good. If you want more proof, I'm here. Dad wanted me to go to vampire boarding school, but when he realised not training my magic could kill me he let me go even though it means he has actually hardly seen me since I turned eleven and I'm fifteen in less than two months."

Harry wasn't used to caring this deeply for someone, and Vlad came from _such_ a different world that it compounded their differences, made Harry worry for things that didn't phase Vlad in the slightest. Still, Vlad pulled him close and ran soft fingers across his scalp, slowly but surely becoming comfortable initiating physical touches.

Vlad's tutoring and training got more intense as the task grew nearer, meaning Harry saw less and less of his boyfriend outside of classes, having to wait until sometimes nearly midnight for Vlad to carefully make his way through the dorm and into bed. Harry took to just foregoing the pretence and waiting on Vlad's bed for him to find, knowing the vampires routine was always take nightclothes to the bathroom, wash up and brush his teeth, change and then make his way to bed.

Each and every time, he smiled like Christmas had come early when he found Harry already there, embracing him happily. Near six months going strong, Harry was still waiting for this easy, exhilarating feeling to wear off, wondering if their relationship would ever dull. Maybe not for Vlad, his bond to Harry constantly keeping him in a state of joy and attraction toward the wizard. Harry only had his own feelings to go on, no magical indicator.

"I'm feeling spoilt by always finding you here when I get back late. I'll be surprised when you aren't there in my tower back in Stokely over summer."

"Well you'll have to settle for Malfoy Manor. Everyone there knows now Draco's in the loop."

"Mhmm. Wouldn't be surprised if the twins suspect something after finding me in your bed over Easter. Even though they didn't say a word after a Dracula scolding before."

Harry shrugged, squirming as Vlad nuzzled into the crook of his neck the way he often did when exhausted and just happy to see him. The hungover Weasley twins finding Harry practically in Vlad's lap with their half seated sleeping positions that morning had been awkward, but they seemed to remember what Vlad had said about his nightmares and not said a thing. Harry still felt uncomfortable... he wanted people to find out on his terms, not by accident.

Vlad had to go for the champions briefing where they got their outfits measured up and preparations a few days before the task, and it was looking like a nice afternoon out so Harry went out walking, intending to drop in on Hagrid for some tea and hearty conversation. Hagrid wasn't home, so Harry took a detour behind the animal coops with a notion of going to see the Thestrals.

A flurry of squawking and ruffled feathers suddenly sounded, the chickens violent reaction to Harry's proximity giving him a sudden and painful headache, the onset fast enough that it left Harry shaky. Stumbling sideways, Harry tried to escape the sounds without falling over and injuring himself on some toxic plant in the Forest.

The noise eventually died away, leaving him feeling a little weak and shivery as hr leant up against a tree, basking in cool shade. Samael _had_ mentioned in passing that Harry and chickens wouldn't get along, but he hadn't expected the change to be **quite** so sudden. They knew Harry wasn't right somehow, even when he was all human(ish) outside. Not good.

"Hope Vlad isn't freaking out" he mused to himself, wondering if that sudden but short-lived set of symptoms had counted as something Vlad could sense. Harry had been scared for a second... Vlad could probably sense that. Wiping a hand over his sweaty face, Harry knew he couldn't go back out the exact way he came without passing the coop again. He may as well head to the Thestral clearing, then leave from there.

Something shifted nearby, despite him knowing the Forest was full of all manner of creatures Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Slipping his wand out of the inside pocket of his jacket, Harry knew it was illogical and dangerous but he went toward the sound anyway. His usually slow, steady heartbeat began to pick up, that part of him that secretly thrilled in a little danger perking up as Harry followed some distinctly not-animal footsteps through thick brush that tore at his jeans.

The steps stopped abruptly, either knowing Harry was following them or just having reached their destination. Harry didn't know if this stranger knew how close they were to crossing into Acromantula territory - he could _feel_ it, spiders fleeing all around him as they sensed the beast within.

Taking a few clumsy steps over some thick tree roots, Harry stumbled into a clearing and very nearly tripped over something large and solid. Looking down, Harry felt his stomach drop as he discovered a body. Casting a glance around, Harry knelt down and felt for a pulse on the man he recognised as Bartemius Crouch Snr.

There wasn't one.

He couldn't even tell if it was cold, his unnaturally cool skin not giving him a cue. He tripped forward again when something struck him, but either Harry's hardened skin and body or dumb luck held out as he stayed upright and conscious, whipping around to search for his attacker. The vision he found surprised him.

 _"Weasley?"_

"What are you doing here Potter? Other than searching for a way to die that is."

"I'm not the one hiding out in the Forest with a dead body, practically begging the Acromantula to find him."

It was satisfying to watch the colour drain out of his face as Weasleys eyes skittered around, widening in horror when he spotted some sticky webs on a tree several feet away. Harry _didn't_ mention he was probably the most effective repellent on the planet.

"I-I'm not scared."

"Want to try that again?"

The redhead was all bravado and entitlement, zero courage or nerves to actually back it up. And Harry doubted he had been the one to kill Crouch, instead being made the lackey cleaning up the mess.

"You think you're so slick, but when I'm watching you beg for your pathetic life you won't be so-"

Whatever Weasley had to say didn't make it out of his mouth as he clutched at his throat, gasping for air and dropping to his knees. Relief filled Harry as he saw Vlad, arm outstretched and fist clenched.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Not sure about Crouch."

The actual realisation was beginning to set in that a man was dead, and Weasley was beginning to turn purple where Vlad teetered on the edge of crushing his airway judging by the weak noises he made.

"Don't kill him. You'll get in trouble."

Vlad scowled, releasing the choke hold and Weasley fainted on the spot. Unsurprising given his oxygen deprivation. Harry wondered if the only reason the boy was alive was because he asked Vlad to stop - Merlin knows Vlad wanted Weasley dead, and they were quite alone out there. Nobody would have known if Vlad avenged his sister.

"We're probably about to have company by the way. I tore out of that bloody meeting when I felt you hurting, I wouldn't be shocked if an entourage shows up. I'm guessing you found him like this?"

"You mean dead?"

"Yeah, he reeks of death. Definitely been offed at least... six hours ago. Explains his absence from that meeting I was in, because he was meant to be there."

Sure enough, Vlad turned to the sound of several adults stomping through the Forest undergrowth, finding quite a scene with a dead body, unconscious little rat and two teenagers.

"Would someone like to explain?"

"I found Crouch like this. Weasley tried to knock me out, Vlad incapacitated him. You turned up."

"Potter, you look white as a sheet! What were you doing in the _Forbidden_ Forest?"

McGonogall came over to him, Vlad's eyes flicking between them and where Karkaroff stood perilously close to his back.

"I was going to visit Hagrid but he wasn't home... and I heard a noise. Couldn't resist... I know it was reckless, I apologise."

"Yes. Well... I think you may have paid enough of a price for your curiosity... Mr du Fortunesa, would you escort these boys to Professor Dumbledore's office? I feel the Ministry will wish to speak with them."

"Of course Professor."

Harry and Vlad followed Bertrand out of the Forest, thankfully coming out at a different point to where he went in and as such, not being tormented by chickens. He quietly explained the sudden problem to Vlad - that had been what drew Vlad to him in time to possibly save him from attack. Weasley couldn't _kill_ him, pretty much nobody could they knew now.

"Huh. Well, now we know... Draco doesn't have chickens in the Manor so I think you're probably safe. We ought to test if you're going to get sick eating it, though not right now."

They fell silent on the trip up the Grand Staircase, Dumbledore's office allowing them entry once Bertrand gave the password through gritted teeth.

" _Garlic gumballs_. The headmaster has a strange sense of humour."

"Only if he expects you to visit alot."

He and Vlad chuckled lightly at the tutors face on the way up, the darkness of the situation leeching away for a moment in the company of his boyfriend. They walked into the empty office, with it's assortment of silver trinkets that would make Draco break out in a cold sweat at the door and the phoenix sat on his perch. Vlad snapped his fingers, conjuring up seating for the three of them as they settled in to wait.

"Why kill Crouch off?"

"He was a loose end. His purpose has been served, the final task is days away and I'm about to finish whatever stupid trial of fire this is for me. Crouch had served his purpose, and either they risked discovery by leaving the curse on, or took it off and had someone with a lot of questions. Nah, easier to just get rid of him."

Vlad twitched anxiously, and Harry didn't need a bond to know the vampire was blaming himself for Crouch's death. Squeezing his hand gently while they were relatively alone, Vlad smiled stiffly. Fawkes trilled, opening gorgeous plumes of feathers to swoop over and land on Vlad's shoulder. The vampire looked up with a fond smile Harry was somewhat surprised by - he didn't think they were that close.

"Hey Fawkes. You got any inside info?"

The phoenix tipped his head to one side, giving Vlad a look that absolutely said "what on earth are you talking about?" before ruffling his feathers happily when Vlad reached up and stroked a finger over his crimson gold stomach.

"When did you two get so friendly?"

"I don't know. He's just... always happy to see me even though Phantom doesn't like him."

Something about the way Vlad didn't quite meet his eyes made Harry wonder if the vampire was being completely honest, but Vlad had said he couldn't lie to his face. Did it count if he wasn't looking at his face at the time?

Either way, they had company.

"Why is it always these two? Honestly, we should never have accepted magical vampires to Hogwarts! Should have told the VHC to stick a stake-"

Vlad winked at Harry, then stood up and faced Cornelius Fudge as though he wasn't supposed to be the most powerful man in Great Britain.

"Why not say it now Minister? Bertrand is _technically_ from the VHC, as is any tutor who oversees magical vampire students."

As they expected, Fudge began to bluster and fiddle with his bowler hat between his hands, looking very uncomfortable when faced with Vlad and Bertrand.

"And besides" Harry stood to join in "we didn't _do_ anything. I found the body, Vlad stopped Weasley trying to kill me for discovering him. If Vlad hadn't been at Hogwarts, then he would have been sent to Durmstrang _with_ Weasley. Which means he would probably be even more trouble."

Vlad rolled his eyes, but they sat down again leaving Ministry officials to bustle around as a still-unconscious Ron Weasley was pulled in by one henchman, glowing spell ropes around his wrists and ankles. Dumbledore swept in, sitting down at his desk and looking to all the world like everyone had just stopped by for a cup of tea.

"Wands. Both of you."

One of the thicker-set aurors held out his hand to them, and Harry suspected he was not used to people saying no or flat out ignoring him.

"Now now Cornelius, you can't really expect that these boys actually committed the murder."

"You know who he is Albus, you know I have to ask the difficult questions."

Vlad huffed, always irritated by people talking about him like he wasn't there and Harry didn't tell him he found the disgruntled sound rather cute.

"I am sitting **right** here you know. I can hear you. And I'm not handing over my wand because I don't trust your staff after the death eater incident. If _Professor McGonogall_ wants to Priori Incantatum my wand I have no objections. And if it's me you don't trust then you have no need to touch Harry's wand. Unless you want to call the boy-who-lived a murderer?"

The Aurors looked rather uncomfortable, gesturing at McGonogall to step forward and Vlad handed his wand over with a polite smile. Of course, the professor knew Vlad barely even needed a wand. It was basically a massively rare, powerful and one of a kind decorative lump of wood to the vampire.

"Last spell was... conjuring a wine fountain. Vladimir?"

"That was Ollivander testing my wand earlier, for the Third Task."

"I thought you said he incapacitated the Weasley boy?"

Harry nodded, but said nothing more - Vlad was better equipped to lie about his magic.

"Hello, I am right here again. I didn't incapacitate him with my wand. But unless you think I killed Crouch, skipped off to the champion meeting and left my best friend wandering the Forest to find the body while that pathetic scum just happened to cross his path, then let Ollivander test my wand just to cover it up... you have nothing to question me on. Harry told you what happened, you can interrogate Weasley with his headmaster present or something. Can we go now?"

Sometimes, just sometimes, Harry suspected Vlad got too much of a kick out of arguing with authority figures. Ingrid would be proud. The grown ups all shared serious looks while Vlad pulled a couple of chocolate frogs from his pocket, offering one to Harry and looking utterly bored.

"Very well. Say nothing of these events. Dismissed."

Harry left sharpish with Vlad in tow, biting the head off his frog to prevent any escape artistry as they passed a room of angry Aurors and made it to the stairs. Vlad pressed a finger to his mouth when they reached the bottom, flicking his eyes left and right before pointing the direction they should go, slipping into a secret passage that would take them to the fifth floor.

"There was an auror under an invisibility cloak in the hallway. Standard procedure. Let's not do that again... and hope Weasley at least gets removed from the school. I don't think he killed him, I think Karkaroff did and used Weasley to dispose of it for kicks. Or cover. Probably both."

As promised - sort of - they didn't say a word about what happened. That didn't stop it being splashed across the _Daily Prophet_ the next morning.

 **BARTY CROUCH FOUND DEAD AT HOGWARTS**

 _Barty Crouch senior, Head of the Department of International Cooperation, was found dead within the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Several students from both Hogwarts and Durmstrang were questioned, but at the time of going to print nobody had been named a suspect._

"I want to find that reporter and feed her to my dad."

Harry spied the name 'Rita Skeeter' across the paper that morning before Vlad shoved it back at Draco. He knew Vlad wanted to set it on fire, but it wasn't his paper to burn. He turned and headed outside, Harry following with his 'Harry special' breakfast sandwich a minute later.

"What's wrong Vlad?"

"That psychotic witch put my name in an article she should not have been able to write. Ever since I got put in this stupid tournament" Vlad gestured angrily at the maze taking over much of the grounds "that stupid reporter hasn't left me alone. _Despite_ being banned from Hogwarts!"

Swallowing a mouthful of bacon and mushroom, Harry reached his non-sandwich hand out to comfort Vlad.

"This time next week the Tournament is over. You can go back to being an invisible bookworm dork."

Vlad stuck his tongue out, then turned back and looked up at the hedges building up the maze he would compete in soon.

"I have to survive that long first."

-YDHP-

 **Yes, next is the Third Task! I am excited for it. Are you guys?**


	55. Third Task

**You - Vlad is always trying to come up with solutions (in Young Dracula he is anyway), but yeah he doesn't have much proof.**

 **jgood27 - thank you! Welcome to the party.**

 **On to the final task! With any luck this not sending out alerts issue has been resolved (here's looking at you ff) and you guys will know this is posted!**

-YDHP-

"What's up?"

Vlad turned his neck to enable him to look at his mate, who was currently playing his fingers over the scar on Vlad's chest. He was self conscious being topless, but Harry had silenced his doubts with heated kisses.

"Just anxious for this to be over. I want my unlife back."

"You'll be fine. You're amazing."

Vlad felt his cheeks heat, Harry's smile saying he had noticed too.

"Thanks. But let's not be naive about the fact _anything_ could happen tomorrow."

"Cheery you are."

"I'm a vampire you dolt."

"Still. Cheer up. It's nearly twenty four hours away."

"Mmm. Not sure what the logic was in making us do this maze at night. My night vision is better than a humans, but still."

"Kinda says they don't think it's going to take that long, since the audience can't exactly stay out there indefinitely."

"Or they expect us all to die in there very quickly."

"Will you cheer up? I don't like this deathwish attitude."

Vlad recoiled, realising he had hurt his mate. Harry noticed quickly, backtracking when he saw Vlad's face

"Hey, calm down. I just mean... act like you want to come out of this alive a little more."

"Of course I do! I told you, I'll always come back to you."

He reached up to touch Harry's face but dropped his hand - he didn't deserve to touch the other boy. He had upset him. Harry touched him instead, stroking a cool thumb across Vlad's cheekbone. Vlad couldn't help but lean in to the touch, absorbing the touch of his mate.

"I know you will. Just humour me and sound more like it?"

"I'll try. You need to accept that I am a Dracula, and we talk in a maudlin manner though."

"I will try. I'm still getting used to this, I didn't know I _could_ care more until I started falling for you."

Vlad felt his heart pound in his chest - it was his birthday in a couple of days, was he about to get a perfect gift from Harry after six months together? He couldn't help himself, blurting it out as though Harry didn't already know.

"I love you."

Harry's thumb stopped and Vlad panicked, but then he was smiling and he dared to hope.

"I love you too. Even if you're a bit morbid and you make me do homework."

No gift could ever quite match up to that - his mate loved him. Vlad could die happy in the maze the following day. He felt his smile grow so wide his cheeks hurt, returned in Harry's more angular, sharper face while Vlad was still very much baby faced, age impaired.

Vlad woke the next morning with the reassuring weight of Harry on his chest, indulging in looking at the contours of muscle in Harry's back and hips, view then impeded by the emerald green bottoms Harry had on. Vlad's gentle encouragement had slowly convinced his boyfriend to accept he looked _divine_ in green, and it didn't make him suddenly loyal to Slytherin.

So when Harry had to buy new bottoms because his old ones didn't fit, several of the pairs had been in varying shades of green. It made Vlad very happy, particularly when Harry scarcely wore tops to sleep in. They often had a few minutes lazy conversation in the mornings, as neither needed as much sleep as the human boys in the dorm and so there was no rush to leave Vlad's bed. It was rare for Harry to even sleep in his own bed once a week by then.

"Do you have champion stuff all day?"

"I'm not actually sure. I have to go for a thing after breakfast. But the task isn't until after the early dinner. No idea if we get hidden away all day."

They slipped out of his bed and cleaned up, quickly dressed in the bathroom and headed down to the mostly-deserted common room together after Vlad fed Phantom and Harry dropped a mouse into Lily's rarely-inhabited tank.

"Hey Vlad! Good luck with the thing tonight!"

"Thanks George. How are exams treating you?"

Given that Ingrid was periodically hexing anyone nearby who disturbed her studying, Vlad wasn't sure anyone else was currently at her level of irritation. George shrugged, slathering peanut butter over her bacon and eggs without a care in the world.

"Easy. Seriously, my teachers have all complained I finish the exams too quick. I told them my secret is brain food."

George indicated her bizarre food mix, adding some ketchup for good measure and Vlad looked away, trying not to vomit into his blueberry porridge. That he totally wasn't eating because it reminded him of the way Harry's mouth tasted after some blueberry jam enthusiasm. Not one bit. Harry was on the mid point of his breakfast, after the meat feast and on to the sugar. The third part could go either way depending on his appetite that day.

The other three champions each waved in greeting to him as they came down for breakfast, a small show of how they still weren't falling for the overt angry competition everyone expected from them. Vlad didn't even care about winning - what did he need 'eternal glory' for when he was already destined to be Grand High Vampire? And what would he do with a thousand galleons? He already had money, a future high paid job and a certain blond friend who had an annoying habit of paying for peoples things.

There was one perk over breakfast - seeing that empty spot Ron Weasley had occupied, since he had been taken by the Ministry for questions and while he didn't know what had gone on over that, the point was he was no longer in Hogwarts upsetting Ingrid. Or breathing too near to anyone Vlad cared about really.

Vlad waited until Hermione and Draco had come down for breakfast before he regretfully left Harry to head off to the whatever-it-was the champions had to be at that morning. Cedric and Fleur caught up with him by the door, and Viktor wasn't far behind as they walked into the appointed room.

"Mama! Papa! Gabrielle!"

"Dad!"

"Mother. Father."

Vlad knew a moments fear as the other three greeted family members. He didn't want Count Dracula roaming Hogwarts. Gabrielle Delacour offered him a shy wave, and the Delacour woman - an ethereal half-Veela who practically glowed where she stood - gave Vlad an appraising look. Definitely could tell he was a biter. Cedric and his father greeted each other with exuberance, all bear hugs and slaps on the back and shoulder as they discussed the tournament

Viktor's father was practically the spitting image, just thinner and beard-ier than Vlad's ex boyfriend. That made him a little unsettled, wondering how much the Krum's knew of Vlad. They probably knew about the relationship, since it had been front page news in the United Kingdom and Viktor was more famous in Bulgaria. Apparently, he was about to find out.

"Mother, father. This is Vlad. Vlad, these are my parents."

The older Krum looked down at Vlad over his hooked nose, making him feel about two inches tall.

"This is the cheat who attempted to convince you to throw the tournament?"

"Whoa whoa whoa. I don't know what you've heard, but my relationship with your son was never about this godforsaken tournament. I didn't even want to compete."

For a minute, Vlad felt _hurt_ that Viktor had painted him in such a light, though he knew Viktor didn't owe him a damn thing in reality.

"Father! I never said any such thing about him. And Vlad vas never anything but supportive and encouraging despite the competition during our relationship."

"Hmmph."

Mr Krum turned away and crossed the room, leaving Vlad feeling a little wrong-footed by the whole experience. Viktor wrapped a loose arm around Vlad's shoulder, smiling in his usual friendly manner.

"Sorry about him. He's just a little uptight. Vait until he finds out you don't like Quidditch."

"Viktor!"

"Sorry, I'll see you later Vlad."

He waved his friend off, not seeing his father anywhere and wondering if he was to be left watching everyone else with their family all day... he could spend that time studying. Studying Harry, but that _was_ his favourite subject.

"Vladdo!"

He was suddenly besieged by two brawny hugs at once, surrounded by flaming red hair and smelling reptile all over one.

"Bill? Charlie?"

"Mum too! Since your dads not allowed near Hogwarts, we are your assigned family for the day."

The Weasley matriarch was indeed there, giving Vlad a hug just as fierce as her muscular sons were capable of. Vlad had not been told his father wasn't allowed in Hogwarts... but he wasn't sad about it. His vampire status would be out in all of a minute and a half as his father flirted with various women and threatened to bite everyone else.

"Cool. I gotta say though, I don't think anyone will buy that we're related."

"I think you would make a fetching red head."

Bill grinned, eyes occasionally drifting over to the Veela women in the corner. Vlad hoped they didn't bring up the incident in the Forest with Ron... at least while they were around other people.

"So... you get to show us around the school, then lunch and dinner and then we'll be watching a maze. Try to set off fireworks, make it look exciting for us?"

"I'll try Charlie. No promises."

The Weasleys knew Amos Diggory as it turned out - Mr Weasley worked at the Ministry with him. The Delacours introduced themselves to Vlad, thanking him for helping Fleur and Gabrielle in the lake. The mother even kissed Vlad's cheek and he felt them flush in response to Veela pheromones, regardless of his own feelings. Like any big brothers, Bill and Charlie teased him mercilessly about that.

"See you in the tent later?"

Cedric nudged Vlad's shoulder, about to head off with his father.

"Yeah." Vlad turned back to his 'assigned family' "Suppose we can start up at Gryffindor tower and work our way down?"

"Sounds good, I wanna see if the scorch marks I-... nothing mum."

Charlie fell silent under his mothers glare, clapped Vlad on the shoulder and they headed out to the almost empty Great Hall, passing up to the Grand Staircase. Fred, George and Ginny were all thrilled to see their brothers and mother, and Harry, Draco and Hermione were all greeted warmly over lunch too. Bill and Charlie were the subject of many admiring looks and attention from younger students, and they had to explain that Vlad was an honorary Weasley for saving Ginny in second year several times.

"What's the matter Dracula? Your mommy and daddy don't love you?"

Several of the students who didn't like Vlad's participation in the Tournament tried to pick a fight about it when they were out on the grounds to relax by the lake, but Vlad let it roll off him. The fiery redheads however, would not take it. Mrs Weasley had disappeared off to see Ginny and meet the boyfriend, so the twins and their two brothers weren't worried to be witnessed.

"He's got enough people caring about him that he basically has two families. Your 'mommy and daddy' didn't even visit when you fell off your broom and cracked your skull Miller. Now get lost."

Vlad didn't like them using what was probably an unhappy home situation, but the other boy had come seeking an argument - he got one.

"Leave it guys. He's not worth the hassle."

Scowling, Miller realised he and his friends weren't going to win the fight - especially when Tonks, part of the security assignment for the Task, was eyeing the crowd, - and they turned away, leaving.

"You are far too passive for a lion."

Vlad shrugged, but Harry rose to his defence with a smile as he stretched out beneath the spring-summer sunshine.

"Nah, he just picks his battles. Vlad's not afraid to jump into the fire, just not for stupid reasons. He's one of those rare ones, a Gryffindor with patience."

"Blasphemy! Speaking of patience... when's dinner?"

"You had lunch an hour and a half ago!"

"Hey, you gotta eat alot when you wrestle dragons for a living."

"There's no dragons here. Except Ingrid. And she wouldn't appreciate you trying to wrestle her."

His sister glared, but Vlad just offered her a grin and a Blood Pop. He tried not to notice the boys around them watching her with it for the sake of his own sanity, instead watching the spectator stands being erected for the third task. The hedges were now so tall and thick, Vlad felt certain he could actually get lost amongst the tightly twisted leaves.

"Well there goes my evening plans."

"Oh, don't make me eat you."

"Is that a promise?"

Charlie's banter was unthreatening to Ingrid, as she knew he wasn't really interested in women in the slightest. So when he rolled on his stomach and smirked up at her where she sat beneath her protective parasol, she didn't hesitate to continue it.

"I'll come find you after the task. Gotta watch Vlad lose miserably first."

"Thanks for your faith and support in my hour of need Ingrid."

"I'm drowning in redheads and Gryffindors, what more do you want?"

Ingrid _was_ being surprisingly supportive, and Vlad wasn't even seriously injured. That was often the only time she showed her concern for him. She was even out in the sunshine with the others.

"Fair point."

With his fifteenth birthday approaching, Vlad knew in a years time his body would not bask in the sunlight as it did now. He was thankful for his magic, in that it would still allow him to be out in the sunshine - where he could watch Harry bask in warmth. His t-shirt would roll up and reveal the muscles of his abdomen when he stretched across the grass, and Vlad was having to make a concerted effort not to be caught staring avidly.

"I repeat, when is this early dinner? My body clock is all over the place, I'm on a different time in Romania."

"Yeah, we know that. We lived there remember? It is" Vlad held his hand palm up, wand in its holster against his wrist "fourty minutes to early dinner. However, if you're going to waste away before then, you're welcome to my Honeydukes bag or the twins stash of cake... assuming you can pry it away from George and _her_ twins."

The afternoon served as relaxation for Vlad, skin pleasantly warmed and Harry's scent more intense for the heat infused into his skin. On top of getting to spend a couple of hours with people who didn't treat him with contempt, suspicion, or outright dislike, which was refreshing after the last seven months of the tournament going on.

Dinner was a somewhat hurried affair for him, as he had to go out to the Champions tent to 'be prepared' for the task. He had barely forced some vegetables and a couple of sausages - Vlad had forgotten what it was like to eat with several Weasleys plus Harry and Draco, a near violent tussle for food - down his neck before Tonks was coming to get him.

"That's my cue. Off to my death."

"Cheer up, at least you'll die heroically!"

"Fred!"

"I'm George!"

"Did somebody call me?"

Shaking his head, his friends waved him off as he stood. Ingrid, having relocated to the Gryffindor table for that meal as everyone knew by then she sort of cared he survived the tournament, told him to at least die dramatically, and he was _almost_ glad to be escaping the noise and chaos at the table. Except... they were his family. And he was never happy to be leaving Harry.

"Nervous?"

"Only that your dad is going to corner me and interrogate me."

"Nah, don't vorry. His English is not that good."

"Comforting."

Viktor grinned, disappearing into his cubicle to change as they all did for the task. Vlad pulled on the hideous jumper thing, reminding himself this was the last time he would have to wear his name across his back, tucking his wand into the holster and stepping back out with a vain attempt at flattening his hair where it had become messy as he yanked his top on.

"This is the final task. You will be released into the maze according to your previous scores, and the aim is to reach the centre of the maze where the Triwizard Cup awaits. The Cup is charmed to remember who touches it first to avoid claims of cheating, and the maze contains many obstacles. To succeed, you must face trials and tribulations "

Vlad began to tune out the briefing, skin itching where he felt Karkaroff keeping an eye on him. A gentle nudge at his shoulder shook Vlad from his reverie, turning out to be Viktor who smiled at him.

"Sorry. Zoned out."

"It's fine. But it's time. Good luck Vlad."

"Good luck Viktor."

If nothing else, the Tournament had given him a wonderful friend in the burly Bulgarian Quidditch player. And Fleur and Cedric had shown him he _could_ be accepted as a vampire. Harry had taught him to swim.

Of course, he had almost drowned and **had** been mauled by a dragon and Merpeople along the way.

It had had its ups and downs.

"Our champions!"

Someone was shouting as they came out, introducing them but Vlad was focused on that last look at his mate before he went into the maze with Lucifer-knew-what. Eyes finding 'his group', with banners and cheering and the Weasley twins had 'VLAD' written across their foreheads... there was Harry. His eyes were bright and his smile wide, and when Vlad's name was announced he jumped up to cheer alongside the Weasleys for him.

Vlad had ended up scoring last, so he was last to be let into the maze. Each of them had a separate entrance that closed behind them, but were assured that each one had no geographical advantage. Vlad didn't believe that entirely, but he wasn't really in it to win it. So it didn't matter much.

There were several staff circling the maze... if one could circle a square. Each had a red star either on their robes or hat - if anyone wanted to quit because of mortal danger or something, they were to send up red sparks with their wand and the circlers would come fetch them.

"Try not to get killed in there. I don't want to deal with your sister."

"Thanks Tonks. And thanks for being my buddy through this whole debacle."

"You're surprisingly good company for a future bat. Alright, get in your spot and wait to be told you can start."

One by one, each champion was directed into the maze. Holding his wand in hand - for show if nothing else - Vlad was last to be sent in. As soon as he reached a magical marker glowing on the floor, the hedges slammed shut behind him and the world fell eerily silent. Squinting, he could see the silencing charms layered over the hedges, and there was even one over the top of the maze. Vlad headed forward, and by rights he ought to be able to see the stands, or at least the school.

Nothing but leaves and night sky as far as his eye could see. Silent, practically invisible... guess they started with trying to disorient them. Pocketing his wand, Vlad clicked the _Illumina_ light ball up in existence next to his shoulder, casting everything into a harsh light that sent shadows stretching up before him.

"Creepy maze. At night. Alone. _Peachy."_

Vlad set off along the grassy floor, unsure whether to be looking for anything as trivial as trip-jinxes or whether he ought to keep his eyes higher up. Nothing but his own footsteps could be heard, not even a flicker of wind over the leaves above.

From his position of entry, Vlad needed to go north east, so he should go forwards for now and search for the turns on his right. He walked for about five minutes before anything happened, and it was slightly unexpected - the hedge shot out a branch, scratching Vlad's hand open with silver-coloured thorns.

"If I were a werewolf, that could have killed me. This isn't playing around."

Thankful for his Healing lessons, Vlad disinfected and closed the scrape on his hand - it wasn't deep, but he didn't want to be dripping vampire blood around for any old creature to smell and track him down. Assuming the branch attack meant he was going to start encountering things now, Vlad let his senses heighten a touch. Next came several of the passages snapping shut behind him, and two dead ends.

Backtracking, Vlad heard what could only be described as hoofbeats. What was he supposed to do, arm wrestle a centaur? His stomach dropped a minute later when he saw the ethereal glow of white gold only one creature gave off.

 _Unicorn._

Trapped between a dead end and a passage in the completely wrong direction, or being gored by a big sharp horn, Vlad took a deep breath and hesitant steps to his left, hoping not to be spotted by the unicorn. Invisibility wouldn't help if it got closer - it would still sense him. Hiding behind a hedge anyway, he wanted to run but could end up in any number of traps, or even alert the unicorn to him even faster.

"Someone's trying to kill me, a unicorn wouldn't even glance twice at Fleur. Bloody specieism. If that is even a word. _And_ I'm talking to myself."

Vlad clamped his mouth closed, taking a few more steps and speeding up as the hoofbeats grew louder. Taking a chance, he ran for it and didn't stop for what felt like half a mile. Not a sound anymore. Sighing in relief, he planned how to compensate for the detour and kept going.

Leaves rustled, a little unsettling with still no wind to rustle them. Wanting to get this over with, but also knowing someone who set this maze up probably had bets on Vlad being dead, he kept going. He encountered nothing more than angry branches again for a while, turning at a point he thought maybe meant he was back on course after the unicorn detour. He wasn't sure if they would get some sort of signal if they were beaten, or were just expected to go wandering until they reached the middle and found out they had lost.

 _Something_ slammed into him out of nowhere, Vlad's distracted senses taking a second to recognise Fleur, bleeding from a cut on her cheek and looking genuinely terrified of something.

"I don't understand. I thought we were friends!"

Confused by her outburst, Vlad turned in the direction she had come from. Wandlight stunned his eyes for a second, having doused his own light long ago to reduce the chances of the unicorn following him. Blinking it away, Vlad found his skin crawl as he saw Viktor, eyes glazed and wand out.

"It's not him. He's cursed!"

"'E tried to kill me!"

"Get going Fleur, go!"

The veela hesitated, then looked at him and shook her head.

"No."

"Then stay there. Whatever he's doing, it's after you not me, see? He hasn't made a move now I'm in the way."

She nodded, watching Vlad approach the Bulgarian slowly, ensuring he kept his body between the two until Viktor's glazed eyes fixed on him. The harsh wandlight gave them an even eerier glow, his head turning like a lost animal who didn't understand the situation. Taking a deep breath, Vlad only knew how to do this in theory.

"I know you wouldn't hurt her. Just like I know you wouldn't attack me. But if you want to hurt Fleur, you'll have to go through me."

At first the features darkened further, searching for Fleur but Vlad stayed in the way, waiting for a sign the control was wavering. Viktor blinked, wand lowering a fraction of an inch and it was enough. Hypnosis and the Imperius curse were similar enough that if Vlad could find the chink, he could - in **theory** \- cancel the two out with each other. But he hadn't tried it before. It was like fighting through an Occlumency barrier made of treacle, but he found the gap and forced his own mind control through it, a backlack knocking the two apart as the magic shattered.

"Vladimir? Are you ok?"

A soft hand tapped his cheek, trying to bring him round. Vlad opened his eyes, finding Fleur hovering over his face. Pushing himself upright, his eyes sought Viktor, who was still prone on the ground.

"How long was I out?"

"Minutes."

Groggy and disorientated - that had _hurt -_ Vlad crawled over the ground, feeling for Viktor's pulse even though he could hear his heart beat.

"He should be fine. Can you do the sparks thing? I hate to disqualify him but I'm not leaving him here to get eaten by a rabid Kneazle or whatever else is going on in here."

Fleur nodded, fumbling for her wand and sending up a shower of red sparks into the air. Then she bent down and helped haul Vlad to his feet with a strength belied by her slender frame.

"We better go, if we are 'ere when they reach 'im we will be disqualified too."

"That way. Quickly."

Vlad pointed to their right, and Fleur helped him stumble that way for a couple of turns, then leant him against a non-attacking patch of hedge.

"Thank you. You may 'ave saved both of our lives. 'E could 'ave been imprisoned for attacking me."

"All in a days work. Get going, it'll look like collusion if he's found unconscious and we reach the middle together. I'm fine... just keep an eye out for Cedric. Something bad is happening in here tonight."

Fleur nodded, whispering a healing charm over her bloodied cheek and heading off on one turn while Vlad ambled along the other. His head began to clear, leaving room for panic. Was someone eliminating his competition? Or was that too fanciful?

Either way, Vlad didn't have much time to think about it - something was coming closer.

The Blast Ended Skrewts had stopped being part of Care Of Magical Creatures classes a while ago - they were just too vicious and Madam Pomfrey wanted to skin Hagrid alive for all the burns she had to treat from them. So Vlad had missed the part where they grew and were now the size of _Hagrids hut._ Bats.

Their mottled grey skin was now thick plates of armour, and the enormous stinger protruding longer than Vlad's entire body told him it was probably a male. How that information helped him, he wasn't sure. Gone were the small propellant flames of before - this one raised its wings and poured a fire storm from it's hind, setting several feet of hedge on fire and launching itself at Vlad.

He barely moved in time, the heat close enough to make his face sweat as the Skrewt got its cruel twisted front end stuck in the brush. Vlad didn't wait to see how easy it could tear out, waving an _Aguamenti_ charm to drop water all over the flames before the whole maze turned into some kind of lethal, logical inferno.

Smoke poured from the doused flames, making it hard to see, hard to breathe but the Skrewt behind him roared out in anger. Vlad thought he was almost safe. Until something in _front_ of him returned the sound.

 _There were two of them. **At least.**_

Casting a quick bubblehead charm allowed him to breathe clean air again, though it did nothing for his eyes as he had little to go on but sound. Despite their huge size, Skrewts had thin legs, like an insect, making virtually no sound as they displaced next to nothing with each step.

"Fire. So... Ice shield. Why can't I be good at that instead of fire? _Glacie!_ "

The shield solidified into existence, letting Vlad at least make a run for it and hoping he didn't run straight into a Skrewt. How did one incapacitate such heavily armoured, super-pissed-off fire crabs with attitude and poison stingers? Where was their weakness?

Vlad found it by accident, getting knocked clean off his feet by the wings of the second one he could not see. The wings were razor sharp, but made a loud fluttering sound as they skittered through the air. The cut across his cheek bled quickly and copiously into his bubble, held by the suspended gravity within and cloying his sense of smell and taste. But when he blinked the coloured lights out of his eyes, Vlad spied it - their underbelly was _not_ armoured.

Hearing the roars grow louder and knowing he was potentially seconds away from being plastered in heavy flames as the Skrewt tried to propel itself to the aid of their friend, he cast a stunner to the underbelly with his outstretched hand. The Skrewt faltered, but didn't stop moving. Petrifying didn't work either, and Vlad was running out of non lethal options.

 _Wait..._ fire crabs. They had that sort of awkward turtle shape, and their biggest weakness was being flipped onto their back. Crawling along to try and get out of range of flames just in case, Vlad used a levitation charm, struggling against the creatures weight until he had the room, and flipped it on its back.

Skinny legs wriggled angrily in the air, but Vlad had the chance to get away before it could get up. Hoping Cedric and Fleur were actually ahead him and wouldn't encounter those now even angrier Skrewts. Cancelling his bubble meant blood spilled down his clothes, but at least Vlad could breathe free air and heal his cheek.

 _What next?_

Using a quick point charm, he found he was going in the right sort of direction, continuining on ignorant of his bloody clothes - there was no hiding his scent now, it would take too long to clean every drop of blood from his shirt. At least he could toss out the shirt after the task. Maybe he should have left a note saying not to cremate him in it if he died.

He had little idea how long and far in he had gotten, so there was nowhere to go but forward. He wanted it over so he could get back to Harry. Hoping he could drink his weight in pumpkin juice when the Task had ended, Vlad kept his eyes open now the smoke had begun to clear, ears open for the sounds of more Skrewts.

If anything, his next stretch of maze was far too quiet. Every step sounded thunderous in the dark silence, even when he tried to step quietly. A gust of wind crept up behind him, definitely not a natural breeze and as Vlad made himself look back, he saw the maze was melting together - he could be swallowed up by the suddenly shrinking valleys. Taking off at a run, he fought to maintain the correct direction as his bruised legs protested. Apparently he was more injured from the Skrewts than he thought.

Coming to a stop with a stitch in his side, Vlad was relieved to see the maze had stopped closing around him. Gulping in deep breaths of air, he took a proper look at where he was, catching a strange glow toward the end of the longest path before him. Was that... _another_ unicorn?

Before he could think more on it, he heard a scream to his left - _Fleur._ Ditching the glow, Vlad headed toward the sound and spied Fleur backed into a corner, firing ineffectual spells at a huge black mass. Squinting, Vlad made out eyes glinting in the moonlight, multiple legs.

"It's an Acromantula. Aim for the underside!"

Fleur turned unwittingly toward his shout, and Vlad could have kicked himself for distracting her. Throwing up a shield charm up between her and the spider, Vlad ran over to her. Not his wisest move to run at a ravenous, human eating titanic spider covered in blood, but he managed to grab Fleur's wrist and pull her away from the Acromantula.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have distracted you."

"You saved me. Again. Eet is almost a shame you prefer men." At Vlad's panicked look, Fleur laughed, a soft tinkling sound despite her obvious fear "worry not. I know you are... spoken for. Creature to creature."

Sighing in relief, Vlad saw the Acromantula had started to press against the shield charm more insistently, and in his current state Vlad's magic wasn't going to hold indefinitely.

"Wait. I think... I think zat is the cup!"

"I don't know, I ran into a unicorn earlier."

Fleur shook her head, turning back to see they had two options - Acromantula or potential unicorn or cup. She eyed his bloodied clothes, then grabbed his wrist.

"Come on."

Tired and hoping this was almost over, Vlad let the Veela lead him away, hoping he wasn't about to become swiss cheese a la vampire. The glow didn't change, didn't move and as they reached the end of the path, the view of the huge cup was obvious. It hummed with magic, but Vlad remembered being told it was charmed to know who touched it first.

"You saved me. Take it."

"You take it. I never cared about winning."

"Together?"

Having argued about this eventuality earlier in the maze, Vlad felt stupid for agreeing, but nodded in an attempt to end the thing. Fleur might just keep refusing to take it and they would both be eaten by spiders. He lifted his hand, waiting for her to mimic him as they both reached for a handle each.

"One."

"Two."

" _Three_."

Both hands closed around it, and Vlad realised a second too late the charm was more familiar than it should have been as they were yanked along by a portkey.

* * *

"Is this taking too long, or is it just me?"

Harry felt twitchy, tapping his knee and thinking out loud. Ingrid reached for the nearest Weasley arm with a watch, checking the time. Bill looked surprised, but amused.

"No, two hours watching a basically empty maze is _definitely_ too long. The younger years are starting to fall asleep."

Harry looked, finding that George and her friends were indeed beginning to doze off. Jacob and Jason were leant against each other, eyes closed and different house coloured jumpers clashing while they were otherwise identical.

"Well Diggory is out, bitten by that Acromantula. And Krum was dragged out unconscious. So it's between Vlad and Delacour."

"If my brother loses to that airhead French half breed I'll hex him so hard he will beg to go back in that lake. _With_ the dragon."

"He and Fleur are friends though."

"He's no threat to her. I am. Queen Bee, one per hive."

Rolling his eyes, Harry turned back to the maze. With any luck, it would be over soon. The crowd began to veer between restless and asleep as the evening wore on, and the judges were beginning to look a little unsure themselves.

"I don't think it's meant to take this long."

"No kidding, I am about ready to-"

Whatever Ingrid was ready to do, Harry never found out. Everyone's attention was fixed on the ground outside the maze, a flash of light that became Fleur Delacour holding a huge trophy-esque cup. The judges still looked unsettled, and Harry wasn't sure that was meant to happen. Ingrid's superior senses focused on the blonde, eyes laser-focused.

"She's got blood on her clothes. Not hers, and she's saying something... do all those people have to _shout?"_

People began to head down to Fleur, mostly Beauxbatons students wanting to see their friend was ok. Watching Ingrid, Harry felt ice coil in his stomach. Bloodless and dead technically, Ingrid was naturally white as a sheet. So when she looked even paler, eyes widening, Harry feared the worst. Ingrid grabbed his wrist and yanked him from his seat, clear of everyone else they had been seated with before she turned and sated his terrified question on the stairs toward the ground.

"What did she say?"

Ingrid knew they were being watched, people all around having noticed Harry being essentially kidnapped from his seat by her. Her voice didn't work for a second, a degree of discomposure Ingrid had scarcely ever displayed even when Vlad was critically injured. Four words. Four words turned Harry's world on its axis. He couldn't breathe.

"She said Vlad's dead."

-YDHP-

 **Do you hate me? I hate me.**

 **And while I have no doubt Acromantula venom is probably fatal immediately or something... sue me. I just wanted Cedric out of the maze.**


	56. Helplessly Hopeful

**You - I uploaded it about 1am Friday my time, because I had had it done for days but knew I was gonna be busy Friday and didn't want it to be late! Hence the early-ish post. And yeah, couldn't not leave a cliffy, I love to torture my readers it seems.**

 **Guest - don't lose sleep! The chapter will still be there tomorrow... though it makes me tickled that my story is so interesting you just _have_ to read it there and ****then. As for the length of this... the current plan is up to Year Seven and Year Eight... if I continued after that it would likely be more in the style of What To Expect When A Vampire Is Expecting... but that's ages away yet!**

 **And then regarding future crossovers... honestly I wouldn't know where to start, this whole YD/HP crossover started from an offhand comment my friend made that inspired the first of _Chosen One Shots..._ And it sort of escalated and here we are over 100 chapters later. **

**BlueAutumn12 - I can leave it there! And I did... but here's the what happened next!**

-YDHP-

Harry forgot how to breathe, but Ingrid dragged him to one side of the stands to avoid the surge of French girls rushing down to their Champion.

"What are you doing? She's the only person who knows what happened to Vlad!"

"I know! But whoever _took_ Vlad has got people here. If they see you melting down, they are going to suspect you're more than friends and _if_ my idiot brother is alive, you'll be the first person they take as leverage. Now **stop** with your Gryffindor nonsense and _think_ like someone worthy of a Dracula.'

Ingrid's harsh words didn't exactly _calm_ Harry, but they did jolt him out of his near panic attack state. She waited until he got a grip, nodded stiffly at her.

"So what's the plan?"

"Follow that Veela. You have your cloak?"

"No- wait, yes. I have Vlad's backpack."

"Put it on. Quickly."

Harry fumbled for the shrunken backpack, yanking the Invisibility Cloak over himself as Ingrid did something that screamed Vlad - turned herself invisible, then grabbed his wrist.

"Stay quiet and watch where you put your feet. They'll take her to the medical tent, but there's going to be a lot of people and officials."

Harry nodded, knowing Ingrid couldn't see him anyway and they carefully followed the crowd toward the medical tent. Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum were already there after being early exiters from the maze, and looked surprised to see the dramatic entrance as several Beauxbatons students accompanied Fleur in, only to be chased out by irate medical staff. Left only with Champions and the officials, Cedric sat up from where he was laid down looking pale, arm still a dark purplish mottled colour.

"Ok so she has the cup, but nobody looks that happy about her winning."

"Vhere is Vlad?"

Fleur Delacour looked utterly haunted, and Harry found hearing her say it again hurt just as much.

"'E... 'e is dead. The cup. It. . It took us somewhere. _He_ was there, and Vlad told me to grab ze cup when it became clear I was to be eliminated. 'E took the spell for me, and then I was 'ere."

Fleur broke down crying, her mothers appearance almost flawlessly timed as she reached for her daughter.

"She eez covered in vampire blood. What kind of task was zis?"

"Mother, eet is Vladimir's. Is clothes were bloody when 'e took a spell for me."

Harry had to bite down on the inside of his cheek to stay quiet, felt Ingrid move closer to him in their carefully selected empty space. He wanted to demand more information, but Fleur was sniffling and discomposed by what she had seen. He couldn't make it worse. A choked sound caught everyone's attention, turning out to be Krum who looked almost as devastated as Harry felt.

"Vlad? He's... He's gone? Vhat did they hit him with?"

Harry felt the first flicker of hope in his chest, though it was a spark surrounded by the storm of darker emotions.

"What does eet matter? I felt... eet was awful. 'E landed on me as I got ze cup."

Everyone stopped dead, staring blankly and Harry panicked momentarily. Ingrid dropped her invsibility spell, making her way to Fleur and looking over at where Harry was still beneath his cloak.

"They are just hypnotised, they'll be fine. I owe Vlad for teaching me that trick actually... I can't wait around forever for them to get to the important stuff."

Ingrid moved Fleur's head upward, eyes glowing a yellowish-gold as she did _something_ to the Veela girl. Her spell reinstated, Ingrid led him outside the back exit, waiting until they were beneath an already-empty stand.

"You're killing me here. What did you see?"

"That there's a _chance_ he's alive. It was the Killing Curse she saw him hit with."

* * *

Vlad opened his eyes, feeling like he had been hit by a train. It was a painfully familiar feeling, reminiscent of a graveyard and statues. He was on the ground, bound with his hands in front of him, though they broke with little more than a thought and he rubbed his wrists, tried to work out how to breathe in a way that wouldn't hurt. It was a fruitless endeavour.

Looking around, he couldn't see much but he was pretty sure he couldn't sense Veela anywhere.

Poor Fleur... she must have been _terrified._

The trophy portkey dumped them in a room, landing harshly on a stone floor. Vlad could tell the magic around the cup hadn't dissipated yet, and then that he knew exactly had issued this little 'invitation'.

" _Avada Kedavra!_ "

Knowing he could survive it - if unpleasantly - Vlad threw his body over Fleur's and just about managed to say "get the cup" before he was knocked out by an agonising pain along his spine.

Speaking of which... Vlad couldn't feel his legs. He knew the scar he sustained from the Killing Curse would do terrible damage beneath the injury. Had it damaged his spine? Vlad immediately thought of his grandfather Atilla Westenra, so old and frail that he could no longer walk, and relied on an electric wheelchair these days.

"Better hope that's temporary trauma. Assuming I survive long enough for it to matter."

Vlad tried to use his legs, but they weren't interested in cooperation and they stayed resolutely on the ground, so he did too. There was nobody watching him struggle at the minute, so Vlad conjured a deep armchair that his legs would be supported by and levitated himself awkwardly into it. At least he wasn't a prone, crippled-looking target. He felt how dead weight his legs were, his entire lower body feeling almost... disconnected.

Like it wasn't his.

Off the ground and feeling a tick less vulnerable for it, Vlad started to take stock of his situation.

Agonising pain? Check.

Magic needing time to replenish as he was short potions? Check.

Potential longterm disability from spinal trauma? Check.

Voldemort rigging the Cup as a portkey to kidnap him? Check.

 _I am so screwed._

Vlad wasn't sure how he was meant to escape. He couldn't even _walk,_ let alone run. They had taken his wand, but that was the least of his problems. Soft, ghosting footsteps sounded nearby, so Vlad used his arms to shift his body up as best he could, attempting to look comfortable and unconcerned.

"Ah, Vladimir. Making yourself at home I see?"

"Bite me Riddle. Dispense with the pleasantries and skip to whatever it is you want from me so I can say no, you can can threaten me and I escape. Just like I rescued Harry in the graveyard."

Maybe he shouldn't go baiting the mad man, but with all the trouble Riddle had gone to to get Vlad there when he could have had any number of people murder him at Hogwarts... he reckoned he had a little leeway. Sure enough, the pale face sneered and scowled, but he didn't curse him again. Putting his magic to the best use - he ensured his Occlumency barrier was as tight as could be.

"Come now Vladimir, surely you know your manners."

"You clearly know _nothing_ about vampires."

The serpentine face was enough to make Vlad's skin crawl, and the darkness and death pouring from his every pore gave him an **awful** stench that made Vlad's already painful breathing even more unappealing. Still, he couldn't show the pain he was in.

"Oh, I would call myself _quite_ the expert on your kind."

Swallowing nausea from the pain wracking his frame, Vlad let out a hollow chuckle.

"You think so? I would love to know how, because _so_ much of the information out there about us is false. Vampires don't let the truth out you fool."

Suspicious of Riddle probably going out of his way to learn about Vlad to discover limits, weaknesses, Vlad had made an effort to learn to replicate his vampiric powers with magic. If he played calm and collected, made his 'tricks' appear effortless... he may just plant a seed of doubt in his captors mind.

Maybe.

"Believe whatever you like Vladimir. For the foreseeable future, you are my guest."

"You know, as much as I would love to spend time with a deranged narcissist... I think I'll pass. Is that all? Only, I have a Charms essay due soon."

Riddle laughed, but there was not a trace of mirth or humour in it at all. If Vlad could feel it through the pain, he reckoned he would have ice travelling down his spine from the high, cold sound.

"You think I don't know you couldn't walk out of here if I opened the door for you?"

"I could always fly."

Vlad forced himself to stay impassive, even mildly impudent at the mention of his current disability. Voldemort would not win, even if Vlad had to _crawl_ out of there. He would always get back to Harry.

"That glamour charm on your neck was most intriguing. I see you have a love interest."

Small talk? _Really?_

"Vampires don't love you idiot. We **own** each other. You won't get a word out of me about her-"

Vlad ensured he looked aghast at his word, adding to the believability of this fictional vampiress girlfriend.

"We'll see. Would you like to see the medic yet? I wouldn't want my guest to stay injured but I wouldn't like to insult that famous Dracula stubbornness. When you're ready to be a little more agreeable, I even have a... gift for you."

Quirking an eyebrow, Vlad would trust a medic from Riddle about as much as he trusted Draco to cook. Whiz at Potions, but the blond could barely boil water when given a kitchen rather than a laboratory.

However...

"A gift?"

"I feel you won't enjoy it as much if you can't get around. No medic, no gift."

"You're _such_ a weirdo. Fine, bring me your questionable healer... but I won't hesitate to incapacitate _anyone_ who tries _anything._ Off you go."

Riddle couldn't out-attitude a Dracula... even Vlad, the least Dracula of all Dracula's ever to stalk the earth. So when he looked murderous as Vlad waved him off like a schoolboy, he kept the lazy smirk on his face until the gaunt, wasted creature turned and floated away in a haze of billowing black cloak.

Conclusion - whatever Riddle wanted with him... it was major. A years work at least, a heavily complicated, _slow_ and patient plot to kidnap him after a series of trials Vlad almost died during to test... something about Vlad. Skill? Nerve? Cunning? It was unclear.

"You didn't mention I would be treating a vampire my lord."

Vlad's heart turned over in his chest. He hadn't even _thought_ of potentially finding such a familiar yet absent face.

"Is that important Severus?"

"Yes sir, their physiology requires a more specialised, specific approach my lord."

There was nothing in the deep black eyes that told of familiarity, and Vlad found himself letting some of his senses focus harder to check for Polyjuice or Imperius... neither of which he genuinely believed.

"Perhaps you should transport our guest upstairs Severus?"

 _Something_ about the look in his old Potions teachers face made Vlad think Riddle was tormenting him somehow, subtle but it seemed to hit its mark.

"Perhaps that is best my lord. Is he ambulatory?"

"Sadly not. Such a shame, he's not as entertaining if he can't try to run."

Talking about him like he wasn't there irritated Vlad - but that was the test. He didn't let it show.

"Is that something you wish me to repair sir?"

"Of course. I want our guest to be comfortable, top of his game. However, first my loyal followers must see I am capable of crippling him first. Carry him."

Vlad resisted as best he could, but every shift he tried to make only hurt his battered back more. Plus, for now he didn't want to attack Snape. Not until he had chance to see if the man really had defected to the dark side.

It didn't make being paraded past the Death Eaters any less humiliating, his legs hanging limp and useless. They laughed and jeered behind their masks, but when one got too close Vlad refused to let them touch him, clenching his fist in mid-air and watching the masked minion choke and reach for the invisible grip on his airway. Before it killed him, Vlad flung him aside and watched several more minions bowl over in an ungainly pile.

"I think your robed idiots need re-educating."

"Perhaps."

The room was suddenly eerily silent - Vlad had not suffered for his resistance, and he had already displayed magical tricks they couldn't fully understand. Riddle swooped, batlike and rather awkward alongside them as Snape carted Vlad across the room, then down a winding staircase to the Potions lab he could smell from halfway up the stairs.

Surprisingly careful, Snape laid Vlad on a table and stepped back. Using his elbows to push himself up, Vlad glared over at Riddle.

"I agreed to the medic. Not you."

"I hope you appreciate how agreeable I'm being for you as my guest young Vladimir."

"I hope you appreciate how little I care."

He was in too much pain, hated the man who had tried to kill his mate too much to play along. If he didn't need to at least try and get hold of Replenisher, and perhaps something to treat his back, Vlad would have just kept refusing Voldemort completely.

Eventually the pale spectre of evil floated out of the room, though not before he held Vlad's wand in his free hand, looking careless and bored about it then vanished. The second they were alone, Snape handed Vlad a vial he identified as Replenisher. Fixing the silent man with a stare, Vlad tried to marshal Occlumency, Legilimency and telepathy properly and sent a short message along to Severus.

"Are they listening?"

Black eyes widened in momentary surprise, but he nodded stiffly. Damnit. Vlad swallowed the Replenisher, feeling his magic fill back up. It didn't help his legs though, still as useless as Phantom during homework.

"I'll need to turn you over to examine your injury."

Translation - _you need your back to me._ Vlad had to think hard about the risk that posed, but he also wanted to know if he was going to walk again. Struggling to use the upper body he could still control, Vlad managed to roll on to his stomach and vanish his muddy, bloodied Champion shirt. It was just as painful as being hit in the chest had been, but there was no knowledge he was defending his mate to temper it. Not that saving Fleur was bad...

but she wasn't _Harry._

"Well? Is it as bad as it feels?"

"The extensive bruising makes it difficult to ascertain. The curse mark as we know causes a deep cut, its too soon to tell if major spinal nerves were permanently damaged."

 _"Great._ Suggest bruise balm and I will eat you."

Glad to have his magic stores refilled, Vlad levitated himself back up and leant himself seated against the wall. It **hurt,** but at least he could see the room again. He recognised the small black vial he was handed, sniffing it skeptically before swallowing it and felt the potent painkiller wind through his system, lowering his back pain to a tolerable level.

His chest scar still hurt at times, now both front and back would ache constantly - perhaps even eternally as his hope of it stopping when he transformed was just that - a hope. His current state of half-dressed didn't concern him much outside of self conscious thoughts. It was probably good to display the scar that proved he survived not one but _two_ Killing Curses were on display to Voldemort. A reminder he was not a human to be easily controlled, disposed of.

"I must check on something. It would serve your best interests not to attempt to escape or go rifling through my laboratory."

"Hilarious."

Vlad watched as Snape left, taking stock of the man. It hadn't yet been a year since they last saw each other, yet the man looked to have aged much more. There were hints of greyish-white in his pitch-black hair, the furrows around his eyes looked etched in like stone. He had a scar winding down his cheek, jaw and neck that had been healed well, but still pulled on the thin skin around it.

The way he walked had changed too, that old powerful strut now an awkward, stiff gait. About all that seemed to remain of Severus Snape was his quick mind, Potion knowledge and human heartbeat. Even his _scent_ was different, and Vlad couldn't work out why.

Looking around the stone walled room offered no clues - it was a compulsively clean, tidy space that held a mammoth Potion cabinet, wooden surfaces that showed rough scrubbing and scorch marks, little divets that would hold cauldrons.

Vlad could smell Wolfsbane - while it was used in a miniscule amount of other potions, told Vlad there was likely to be a bitten werewolf around the place, being carefully controlled with Wolfsbane Potion when Riddle wanted him compliant, and probably left undosed if he wanted to sic him on others.

 **Good.** Vlad had unfinished business with Fenrir Greyback.

Snape came back out, seeing Vlad had not moved an inch and his appearance gave away nothing about where he had been or what it had been for.

"So... is this my life now? I mean, I did mention I have homework to do so I can't hang about here, but your boss didn't seem to consider my education important."

"I believe the Dark Lord wishes to explain his motivations himself. Perhaps you should be less petulant and he may explain himself."

"Where's the fun in that? He's potentially left me paralysed, not exactly a way to befriend me."

"Well if I heard correctly, that was actually owing to you interfering with him attempting to kill some collateral damage. He did not directly attack _you."_

"That doesn't actually make it better, he had no right to attack Fleur. She was only there because I insisted we jointly win to piss off the judges."

"Your sense of fairness will not serve you well here. No more than once every four hours. That is all there is to be done for your injuries."

He handed Vlad a rolled up pouch containing multiple black vials. One every four hours... there were a few dozen vials and that added to expectations for him being there several days. Not promising. He was silently handed a second, smaller one that he immediately hid in his left pocket - it was the one with a minor expansion charm on to let him carry his wand without it digging into his leg. Replenisher vials.

"Yeah, I've taken these hits before."

He kept his voice harsh and biting, ensuring whoever listened in - they obviously weren't watching or Snape wouldn't be slipping him extras - heard them at odds.

He wasn't naive however. Riddle may well be instructing Severus Snape to appear to befriend Vlad, support him. Never trust anything at face value. Now... how was he going to get out of needing to be carried around the place until he could get out?

-YDHP-

 **I don't doubt many are disappointed with the lack of Harry reaction, but this chapter only contained a short glimpse at Hogwarts. It was _supposed_ to be all about Vlad, but I felt like I owed Harry a little hope. More on the wizard later. **

**And... I promised he would be back!**

 **Consider this a bonus chapter for hitting 100 likes on Chosen Two Y1 + Y2 because I felt terribly guilty for leaving you guys hanging... and I wrote this in a day, next chapter is already half finished.**


	57. Injured Instincts

**BlueAutumn12 - yeah I'm being terribly mean to Vlad! But can't be nice every chapter... or Chosen Two would just be a fluff fest. Y'all might get bored.**

 **You - it's cool, I still appreciate that you make the effort to review every chapter.**

 **Ariana-807 - you just have to wait and see!**

 **Incorrect usage of _Levicorpus_ spell present in chapter. Deal with it.**

-YDHP-

"Is our guest feeling more agreeable yet?"

"I can answer you in many ways. Telepathy, throttling... ooh, what about fire? Or just a flat out no."

Riddle glared for a second, then his flat reptilian face turned back to smarmy. The eyes gave him away - full of murderous intent. Vlad had Count Dracula for a dad, he had seen _that_ before. Particularly with the reddish colour. The snakelike slits were difficult to look at - Harry's eyes did that every morning. Vlad checked his Occlumency walls were firm - this psychopath didn't deserve access to _any_ of those thoughts.

"That isn't very hospitable of you Vladimir."

"Stop calling me that. Or I'll start calling you _Tom._ "

That won him the reaction he wanted, wand hand twitching and Vlad itched to rip it from his bony hand and smash the wand that had been lifted to kill Harry's parents into dust.

"Dracula then?"

"Better. I'm not calling you Lord, sir or _Voldemort_ though. How about Tommy? No? Thomas?"

"You are trying my patience."

Vlad could see Snape behind Riddle's back, wide eyed and maybe even a little... panicked? Who could tell, the man was a stone wall. Maybe the strong painkiller plus Replenisher was making Vlad a little dopey... the world was a little wobbly at the edges. He needed to be careful or he could tip right over.

"That's what Dracula's do."

Yep. Definitely dopey. From one angle it even almost looked like Riddle had a nose. Next he would be hallucinating hair. Right now he may even mistake the expression on the serpentine face for 'searching for patience', and it was taking every bit of strength he had not to burst out in slightly manic giggles.

"You don't need to refer to me by name. None of my followers will expect you to be talking to them. Agreeable?"

"What does it matter? I'm not going to be of any use to you even if I had legs that worked right now so let's commence with the fighting and killing. Or let me go. Either works."

"At least come and see the gift I prepared for you. I went to such lengths to get the right one."

 _I must be high,_ Vlad thought. _Because I'm curious enough to want to know._

"Fine. But first you better find a way for me to get around other than being carried like a newborn babe. I don't trust your minions."

"Surely someone of your powers can find your own solution."

Resigned to being some kind of pale, battered ghost-bat, Vlad sighed and held his hand out.

"Wand?"

"Do you **really** need it? You conjured a chair _and_ broke your restraints without it."

"Those were one off, low level tricks. Give. Me. My. Wand."

Vlad didn't _really_ need it, but that didn't mean he wanted Riddle getting curious and finding out about his magic-wood dual-core wand that mostly served as decoration. Even so, he felt a little reassured by the familiar warmth of his wand in his hand.

" _Levicorpus._ "

Vlad hovered a couple of inches off the table he was sat on, having to manually use his arms to straighten out his legs and float upright rather than seated.

"Off we go then."

As soon as Riddle turned away, Vlad silently cast a shield charm around himself - he didn't trust anybody not to shoot him in the back. His bruised, still probably bleeding and future-scarred back that bore a lightning bolt practically down his spine.

Manipulating the charm, Vlad lowered himself to only a few centimetres above ground and awkwardly floated behind Riddle, who was obviously very aware of an armed Vlad behind him. Tempting as it was and satisfying as it would be, Vlad wouldn't hex him from behind.

Not to mention it would be virtually useless - there were horcruxes out there yet to be destroyed before Riddle could be killed for good.

"Come on then, where's my gift? Is it food? Actually, scratch that. You would poison me."

"Patience Dracula."

"Heh. You **really** don't know biters."

They ended up back in the room full of loyal minions, most of whom were masked and arranged in a loose kind of circle. Vlad could feel many eyes on his shirtless torso, wanting to shrink in on himself but he held Harry's soft, whispered words of praise close to his heart and stayed as solid and stoic as he could while levitating in a room full of adult evil.

Wasn't much different from a Dracula Ball back in the old country really.

"Our esteemed guest, Vladimir Dracula. I expect you all to remain well behaved... or face my _displeasure."_

"Yes my lord." was parroted back to them several times over, and Vlad could feel the contempt the others had for him. But they were too cowardly and compliant to argue with their lunatic master. He could _smell_ the werewolf in the room, scanning the crowd and spying the bulkiest one with robes stretched tight over a broad body. They were hooded but not masked, so Vlad expected he would see Fenrir Greyback face to face soon.

"Still waiting on this gift. Getting bored."

Vlad drawled, channelling bored-Ingrid for the necessary attitude and watching Riddle tense up slightly. He was uncomfortable with someone who didn't bow down to him, who wasn't cowering at the thought of annoying him. That was the problem with ruling only with fear... you couldn't scare everyone.

"Bring him out."

Pale, clearly beaten and bound and terrified, Ron Weasley was shoved out into the middle of the circle to slam to the ground in front of Vlad. Mind connecting the dots - Crouch had been murdered and Weasley told to dispose of his body, which had gotten him in trouble and removed from Hogwarts... it was all part of this ridiculous plan.

"You brought me here for _this_ waste of air? If you wanted to impress me, his corpse would have been far better. Can I go now?"

In hindsight, Vlad probably shouldn't have said that to a room full of people who didn't think twice of ending a life.

"I thought perhaps you would enjoy the rights to that yourself."

"I'm not wasting magic on this rat."

There was no denying how badly Vlad wanted the Weasley traitor dead, but even if he _did_ want to kill the boy, he wasn't a performing monkey and they wouldn't get the satisfaction of his protective brother instincts. Nor his Dracula thirst for revenge.

Vlad didn't need to look to know the werewolf had come closer - he could _smell_ him.

"Hades hellfire, don't you ever bathe your pet dog?"

"Greyback?"

Vlad found a huge amount of amused pleasure in the burn scars littered across the man's face when he lowered his hood, even a wolf healing process not enough to keep up with when Vlad set him on fire. He reeked of stale sweat, blood and werewolf, which Draco kept far better suppressed by bathing daily. Clearly Greyback had no care for personal hygiene.

"My Lord. I do hunger so."

"Well Dracula? Do you want to kill him or should I let the dog have a chew toy?"

"So long as he stops breathing I don't care how he gets there. Just take it away from me, I'm going to be sick from the smell. Don't make me set him on fire again."

He hoped he appeared not to care, but Vlad had known the second he saw the boy on the ground Weasley wasn't getting out alive. He couldn't appear rattled. Riddle waved Greyback off, who threw Vlad a scowl - probably for his scars, or Vlad's comments - but picked up the petrified-looking Weasley and carried him out of the room like the obedient dog he was being fed a treat.

"Greyback does so love the taste of children."

Fighting to keep his stomach contents where they were, Vlad grimaced.

"That's disgusting. Then again, he _is_ just a bitten mongrel."

Voldemort frowned slightly, likely trying to work out what his next move would be since Vlad wasn't cheering for the scream he could hear next door. A bitten wolf eating human when it wasn't even the full... Greyback was beyond even Vlad's usual experience of the feral animals.

"I didn't have you pegged for specieism."

"At least born wolves have some control, some decorum. And immortality. Bittens are just _beasts._ Granted, that Wolfsbane potion helps, but I sense you are easily amused enough to want to watch a feral animal."

"Your opinion of me is not nearly high enough."

Vlad raised an eyebrow, feeling his pain relief potion already starting to wear off and he wasn't even using any muscles other than his head properly. Channelling the pain into a harsh tone, Vlad looked over the room coldly. Dracula ice expressions were an art form.

 **"Seriously?** You tried to kill my best friend, your pet lizard petrified my sister and you kidnapped me. Keeping your furry plaything around is hardly going to endear you to me."

He sent a silent apology to Harry for insulting Samael and a mental promise to take the basilisk a cow or something if he ever got out of this captivity. He still felt utterly bizarre floating above the ground like a vampire ghost while he couldn't feel his lower body and could feel _too much_ in his upper body.

"All but those who have been given assignment are to leave. Those who have know better than to leave. Come Dracula... let us talk."

"I'm not a dog."

Grim satisfaction was his when Riddle grit his teeth, muscle in his narrow jaw twitching with suppressed rage. Whatever Riddle wanted with Vlad, he was _really_ set on or else he would have cursed him again by now.

 _"Would_ you accompany me somewhere more comfortable?"

"That had better mean comfy chairs... you aren't my type."

Skin crawling, Vlad followed along bobbing through the air like a crude cartoon. They went down several winding corridors, telling him that Riddle liked his lairs to be confusing, warren-like. It reminded him of beneath their old castle back in Transylvania. The underground part at least.

"No... you prefer the rugged, silent and sporty type I hear. Wormtail!"

"Y-y-yes my lord?"

"Stand still."

Vlad's order obviously surprised Wormtail, little squinting eyes flicking between Vlad and Voldemort. He didn't move otherwise. Riddle sneered in amusement, watching as Vlad maneuvered his useless aching body into a plush armchair.

"Sorry, did you want to play with the servant?"

"No. Just seeing if it's _you_ he obeys or he's just an obedient submissive rat. Carry on."

More muscle twitching in anger, Riddle almost - _almost_ \- raised his wand and blasted Vlad in the face. But he mastered it, and turned to shout at his servants instead.

"Is there anything you would like? Poison free, I guarantee it."

"And you are _totally_ trustworthy."

"I would not go to all this trouble simply to poison your tea."

Vlad thought on it. He agreed to an extent, but that didn't mean nobody _else_ would poison his drink. However, weakening through dehydration or starvation wasn't going to help.

"I don't know about that. But... fine. Pumpkin juice. _Sealed._ And something light and sweet to go with it. These bruises make a heavy meal unappealing."

Riddle sent his squirming rat away, and Vlad felt nauseated by the lipless smile, yellowed teeth stretching into existence on the colourless, inhuman face. The supposed expression of happiness didn't reach the red slitted eyes, but served to stretch his cheeks around the flattened nose. He wondered about the process, how each Horcrux had stripped him of more humanity. It was odd to see an external shell of a shattered soul.

Rather... Dorian Grey really.

"This will be your room... until you agree to my terms or I get bored of you..."

"Yeah... no. You haven't even given me your 'terms' so I can turn them down. Just... tried to win me over. It's kind of creepy, makes me feel like you're grooming me."

"As you said, you are not my 'type' Dracula. Nor do I lower myself to such... base, human rutting. My desires are considerably different."

Vlad knew that couldn't have always been the case - he was Lily Evans' father.

"And predictable. You want Harry, and because you know he would never give you the time of day, you went through _all of this_ to get me here, thinking I would be impressed. Then you can convince me to hand over Harry without a fight so you can kill him to soothe your ego."

"I'm afraid you are wrong on some things. Ah, Wormtail. Do come in."

The glass bottle was still sealed, Vlad noticed. He still ran a silent scanning charm over it, pushed every sense he could at the bottle as he popped the lid. Taking a casual sip... nothing happened except his dry mouth alleviated. There was a plate of sweet cakes and pastries on the tray, accompanied by a dark grey stone goblet, inlaid with precious stones and Vlad spied the Malfoy crest on. Even now, Riddle was stealing grandeur to make himself look better.

"Y-your wine my lord."

"Yes Wormtail, I can see that. Nor did I ask for you to tell me."

Riddle raised his wand, but Vlad snorted just loud enough to be heard.

"Problem?"

"You're going to torture him right? Like you do all the time... either he likes it or you do and I would rather you keep your foreplay out of _my_ room."

Vlad couldn't risk Riddle using Cruciatus if he could stop it - not when Harry would be hurt by it. He felt the scratching on his barriers, nudging the intrusion out gently at first. Riddle pushed harder, so Vlad did too and he scowled when the push-back made his chair rattle. Vlad sipped his drink again, trying to maintain his bored expression as his back pulsed with pain. Proximity to the spells caster was making it worse.

"Nice try. Wormtail, you can leave now. The important ones are talking."

Wormtail scurried off, obviously hoping to avoid the torture he was bound to get later anyway.

"Nobody interrupts my punishments."

"I just did. You've been interrupting my _life._ Now enough with the niceties, I'm growing bored. What do you want?"

"I want Harry Potter."

"No dice. Kill me and be done with it."

Vlad would literally die before he handed anyone over to this lunatic. His mate... he would do _anything_ to protect.

"You haven't even heard what I want."

"I'm not letting you near my best friend. No matter what you offer."

"Even if it's guaranteed safety for you, him and your friends from my followers?"

"You- what?"

Vlad didn't _trust_ a word, but he would let Riddle finish his sales pitch before denying him again.

"With you being the good guard dog- sorry, bat that you are, killing Harry Potter is becoming a tiresome chore. I would rather ensure he simply will never move against me."

"You want to _recruit_ him? Are you insane? Harry would never follow you."

"But he would follow _you._ "

It all clicked into place - if Mouldy-shorts here got Vlad on side, he would have Harry by default as everyone knew Harry and Vlad were a package deal when it came to watching each others backs, and their loyalty to the other.

"So you buddy up to me, you get Harry. The biggest threat to your whole magic supremacy movement removed... hell, we may even come in handy. That's _not_ your most illogical plan. **That** honour goes to putting me in the Tournament. I would have died first task if not for Charlie Weasley. Then you had the Merfolk try to murder me."

"And yet here we are. You passed every test."

Throwing caution to the wind, Vlad swallowed half a vial of pain reliever. He didn't want to go dopey again but Riddle was painful company.

"Friendship hint - intentionally putting people in life or death situations is not how to win people over."

"Oh come now. You can't say it wasn't a challenge."

"Plus, entry into the Tournament excluded me from this years exams. If you were paying attention to me, you would know I actually _like_ studying."

"Surely _you_ don't need exams."

"What do you mean by that?"

Vlad wasn't quite prepared for Riddle's next words. He tried not to think of it, and he wasn't strictly aware anybody else knew.

"Well, you _are_ the Chosen One. I don't think becoming head of the Vampire High Council requires high OWLs."

Fighting not to appear as shaken as he felt. Vlad hummed as though he was considering the thought calmly.

"So **that's** what you came after me for."

"Your friendship with Potter is the main draw. Your future power is another."

"And in return for me taking Harry off your back?"

"You guarantee no threat or interference from my followers for you, Mr Potter and your nearest and dearest."

"There's a flaw in your plan. Well, actually there are several but one hole in particular I could wal- crawl through."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"That I don't believe a _single_ word coming out of your lying mouth."

Vlad had reached the end of his patience apparently, as Riddle rose to his feet in a flurry of irritation and robes, scowling.

"We'll see if some alone time teaches you some manners."

He swept from the room, locking charms clicking into place behind him and leaving Vlad full of relief for his peace. He added his own locking charm to the door - just in case - before twisting his upper body best he could to survey 'his' room. He couldn't escape like _this,_ but there was no way to heal a dark curse attack.

 _Oh **bats.** _

_No way._

He was stuck this way. Unless there was some secret healing magic he and everyone else were as yet unaware of... Vlad was stuck. Best case scenario for him was making it to his transformation the next year and **hoping** the Blood Mirror would fix him. For now... all he could do was reinforce his shield charms, add a couple of alarm charms and float himself awkwardly over to the bed Voldemort had 'kindly' given him. He swallowed the second half of the painkiller from earlier, forcing himself to accept that he needed rest if he would be strong enough to leave, to escape.

Even if sleeping without Harry sounded impossible.

Hopefully Harry wouldn't leave his now-crippled boyfriend. If that happened... then Vlad probably wouldn't even bother trying to get as far as the Mirror.

* * *

"So... if he's maybe alive... how do we find him?"

Ingrid bit her lip, thinking before her mouth turned up at the side in a smirk.

"We ask someone who knows. Know somewhere private?"

"The Chamber? Only I can get in or out without help."

"Meet you on the second floor. Stay hidden."

Ingrid 'flitted' off, leaving Harry shaking his head and feeling the faint sparks of hope that Vlad was still out there. Getting up to Hogwarts with the chaos wasn't easy, especially invisible, but eventually he was outside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom beneath his cloak, searching for Ingrid. He didn't expect Bertrand, who was holding his left arm in a strange position and silently indicated the door.

Of course _he_ could tell Harry was there.

Harry opened the door slowly, carefully and stepped in, hoping Myrtle wasn't about to get involved in vampiric kidnap.

"Where's Ingrid?"

"Right here. _Finite._ "

Invisibility spells dropped twice, Ingrid came into view and so did the reason Bertrand looked odd - he had an unconscious Karkaroff beneath his arm.

"Come on, they'll be looking for him soon so get opening."

"Bossy biters. _Open._ "

The Chamber entrance began to reveal itself as Harry did, and a moment later all four of them were down in the depths of Harry's birthright - technically the Chamber belonged to Slytherin's heir. Against his will, that was Harry. Though... he had his familiars for it, which was pretty cool. Life would be duller without Lily hissing sarcastically at him, or Samael helping him teach Vlad to swim.

"He's coming around. Is this place warded?"

"No, the parselmouth protection is enough really. So if you know how to make sure he can't apparate out..."

Ingrid rolled her eyes, tossed Karkaroff unceremoniously onto the ground and muttered under her breath as she stalked about the place. Harry could feel the charms being put in place, wondered if it were even possible to do so without his permission. Salazar Slytherin had missed his calling as a teacher... he should have been a magical builder.

"Done. Outgoing portkeys blocked too just in case. Didn't want to block incoming in case Vlad makes it here."

Harry's hand automatically went to his necklace, the one Vlad made to keep him safe and that had saved their lives - sort of - in Little Hangleton. He grit his teeth, feeling that base instinct to bite Karkaroff and let his venom cause unbearable agony... but then they wouldn't learn anything and the man would get off too easy.

"Right then. Ingrid, can you do the honours of producing chairs? We might be here a while."

"Can I wake him up too?"

Knowing Ingrid liked a good hex or ten, Harry nodded and sat back in the comfortable seat she provided as she pocketed her wand, eyes glinting with danger as she snapped her fingers. Harry didn't hear or see anything happen, but Karkaroff bolted upright, spluttering loudly.

"Ice water hex. Feels like ice water thrown in your face but zero mess."

"You'll have to teach me that one. For now . _bindus._ "

Ropes shot from Harry's wand and wrapped themselves around Karkaroff as he tried to crawl away unnoticed - as though one could escape two vampires _and_ the Chamber Of Secrets.

"You're on _my_ turf now Karkaroff. You get one chance to do this easy... where is Vlad?"

"I don't know what you're-"

His lie was cut off by Bertrand, using the same hand-choke thing Vlad had done. Although Vlad's had been magical, a copy of the vampiric power Bertrand had control over until Vlad gained his own vampire half.

"Stop! He needs to breathe to talk."

Bertrand dropped him, fangs bared and anger showing. Of all the people for Voldemort to kidnap, he had picked someone who had both human and vampire willing to back him and fight for him. Bad choice. Karkaroff wheezed, limp on the ground as they waited.

"I'll ask again, and think _very_ carefully before lying to us again. Where is Vlad?"

"I don't know! I swear! I only knew to make the plans from this side."

Ingrid stood up, pacing with her heeled boots clicking almost dangerously near to Karkaroff's face.

"I want to believe him, but the problem is" Ingrid flicked her finger, the way Vlad often did for dramatic effect and it pulled Karkaroff to hover upright and six inches off the ground "you made that portkey. You have to know _where_ it's going for that."

"I-I can't talk. The Dark Lord will kill me."

Bertrand stood, taking Karkaroff's other side so no matter where he looked, there was someone in his eyeline.

"You're labouring under the misapprehension you will leave here alive Karkaroff."

All the colour drained out of Karkaroff's face. Harry picked up from the older vampire, letting his basilisk side rule his instincts now.

"The only question now is what happens to you **before** you die. As Ingrid here is quite fond of causing pain. Bertrand is an expert in human anatomy. Or both of them could drink you for days and you would slowly die in pain and weakness. If you talk, we'll make it quick."

Harry didn't really want to be responsible for a murder, but Karkaroff already knew too much - if they let him go and he told Riddle about the Chamber... Riddle would know he was a parselmouth. And that wouldn't sate any of their appetites for revenge after Karkaroff had almost gotten Vlad killed _twice_ now. No, the Durmstrang Head wasn't going to see tomorrow.

"I-i-it was a temporary location. Just designed to get him out of Hogwarts."

"We'll take temporary. Vampires are hunters."

"You won't find him. And the Dark Lord doesn't want the Dracula boy dead. He wants him as an ally."

"Vladdy wouldn't ally with Voldy if he covered himself in pumpkin juice and asked nicely."

Ingrid really had a way with words... Harry tried to shake off the traumatic mental image she painted.

"Oh, I am sure he will find a way. Assuming the boy has even survived this long. That little half breed Veela said she saw him die."

Anger bubbled under Harry's skin as he saw the thin face stretch into a smirk - he knew he was dead but wanted to have his fun first. That feeling his skin was too tight began to intensify, his fang teeth dripping as venom pooled in his mouth and Harry experienced the most overwhelming, otherworldly sensation as his body shifted and stretched beyond any human's capabilities.

"Ok. _That's_ new."

"Cover your eyes!"

Harry turned his head to the sounds, finding only blank walls and stone sculptures. It took a moment to adjust his perception and realise his new height, looking down to see an endless stream of scales and reptilian coils. His body didn't move right anymore... but the new patterns felt natural anyway.

Well, at least he had found out how to shift to both forms.

His senses were so ramped up Harry could scarcely cope - there were smells that he couldn't identify and colours he had no name for. He opened his mouth to tell Ingrid and Bertrand they could look, that his eyes were safe but all that came out were hisses. Turning to Karkaroff, he saw the floating, bound man had fainted cold.

"While I'm sure this is very fun for you... any chance you can turn back and wait to be a sixty foot snake _after_ we find Vlad?"

Harry tried to agree with Ingrid, but again found he couldn't talk to her. He wanted to explore his new form, but Ingrid was right - now was not the time. Trying to recall how he shifted back after his animagus changes, Harry sought the sensations of four limbs and opposable thumbs. It was easy, natural - his basilisk form was his 'other', rather than an additional. Harry didn't know how he knew that... he just did.

"Ok. Back now."

Met with twin expressions of sheer surprise, the vampires composed themselves quickly while Harry tried to stop his limbs feeling all floaty and stretchy. He hoped he didn't start itching again.

"Well. If he didn't die of fright, I reckon that will have scared him into talking."

"Can you not just... I don't know what you call it, but the thing you did to Fleur?"

"Forced Legilimency is a crime... though so is kidnapping and the whole murder thing we have planned. So yeah, screw illegality. How are you planning on getting rid of him by the way?"

Harry quirked an eyebrow, watching Ingrid circle the man.

"I assumed you two wouldn't mind draining him."

"No no, I'm all for it. I meant the corpse."

"I have a large snake who could use him as a snack."

"You're going to _feed_ him to your basilisk?"

"Got a better way to dispose of his body?"

Ingrid shrugged, fangs already descending as she contemplated her soon to be meal. Harry looked at Bertrand, then back to Ingrid as he remembered something before she went searching Karkaroff's mind.

"See if he knows what happened to Severus."

Something flashed across Ingrid's eyes then, gone before Harry could be certain. But he might have called it pain.

"Alright. Keep an eye on him, I haven't mastered awareness during this."

Harry nodded, keeping eyes fixed on the man while Ingrid rampaged through his memories. Eventually she stumbled backwards, face an absolute kaleidoscope of emotions that almost didn't suit her usual cold-mask face.

"Well, now I know what they had over him."

-YDHP-

 **I feel this is OOC for Harry, but only in canonical terms. My Harry could never be all light side, I'm always aiming for grey.**

 **I'm going to do my absolute best not to, but this is an advance notice there is a slight chance of a late chapter next week, I have to have some emergency dental work done and I don't know how lucid I'll be after Novacain and potent pain relievers... we'll see. As I said, hopefully I'll be on time but there's your warning.**


	58. Surprises All-Around

**BlueAutumn12 - Ingrid does have bad luck! I agree. As for Vlad saving... I confirm or deny nothing.**

 **YokaiAngel - thanks! I'm glad you still love the story.**

 **You - exactly! And who doesn't love fun Harry?**

-YDHP-

Vlad woke with a sudden jerk, rolling over and regretting it instantly as he laid on his sore back. Pushing himself upright on instinct, he realised the thing that woke him with his alarm charms - somebody was trying to get in.

Riddle had set the locking charms, so it probably wasn't him. Oh wait... Vlad remembered, squinting to see his own locking charm overlaying the blackened, twisted magic. He stood up, feeling nauseous with the pain it set off all over his back and still-bruised legs. Apparently Snape hadn't felt the need to heal them if Vlad couldn't feel them.

 _Wait._

How was he even **standing?**

Vlad patted down his legs, then cast a mirror charm on the wall and twisted around painfully to see his back. The bruises were dark and fresh still, the lightning bolt starkly glowing a faint-green in the middle. It still _hurt,_ just as much as it did before. He knew from past experience that it was going to be a long time before he was healed. Before he could even sleep on his back again.

So it was _exceptionally_ unlikely that his body had begun to repair itself. Even if he didn't think that were possible, the damage wrought should have been irreparable. Feeling awkward, he took a few steps. He stumbled like an ungainly colt, but his legs _worked._

"Ok then. Don't let Riddle know."

Vlad cancelled the mirror charm, swallowed a painkiller and forced himself back on the bed in his painful prone position on the bed. Laying on his belly when Voldemort walked in was not ideal, but important. He waved off the locking charm, rubbing his eyes as the dork-lard wandered in. Although wandered was a light word to describe the anger and irritation pouring off him.

"What? I was sleeping, not about to rely on _you_ for protection from your goons. Or are you mad you couldn't _break_ my spell? I did tell you... magical vampires are mysterious. Our magic is innate, it's different to you. You're just a human."

"I am so much more than a man."

"If you say so" Vlad made himself use his arms, roll on to his back and grit his fangs against the pain "but **magic** doesn't care."

"You're just a boy. Not even a vampire yet. What would you know about magic?"

"I'm a magical creature. I come from a long line of magical creatures. We understood magic before your kind harnessed it. We had telepathy and blocks before you had Legilimency and Occlumency, and we had telekinesis and transformations and shapeshifting, _long_ before you had animagi and levitation spells."

Speaking of Occlumency... Vlad kept his mind sealed, couldn't risk Riddle seeing how much he was unsettled by not waking up with Harry on his chest, arm slung over his stomach and those little unintelligible hisses he made when waking up. The space between asleep and awake... the time when Harry wasn't fighting to hide his basilisk side at all. And he would so often kiss Vlad before he even said "good morning". Hellfire, he missed his mate so much it was already starting to tear at his chest.

"You sound educated on the subject."

"I told you. I like to study."

Wanting to use his legs but not stupid enough to let on he could walk yet, Vlad dragged himself along the bed to lean up against the pillow, his previous "I took your top curse and survived" scar visible across his chest.

"I can have all manner of reading material brought to you."

"You could let me go."

"Not without what I brought you here for."

Vlad scowled, turning his eyes away from Riddle in a clear show of defiance.

"I'm not giving you Harry Potter."

"Not even to keep he and your family safe?"

"Until you change your mind and decide he's more threat than help. Be fair Tommy boy, you're known for your mood swings and a bad attitude."

Every time he referred to Riddle by his not-Voldemort name, the madman grew more irate.

"I told you not to call me that."

"And I told you I'm not going to call you Voldemort. Do your pureblood idiot followers know you're half Muggle? Kind of dents the whole pureblood image I guess. Maybe I'll tell them."

Never had Vlad seen such anger in someone's eyes - and he had seen _Count Dracula_ hear his 'son and heir' say he wished he were human. He felt something hit his Shield Charm, but not make it through. Rather than waste magic trying again, Riddle changed tack.

"You wouldn't dare."

 _"Hellooo?_ **Never** dare a Dracula."

Riddle scowled some more, bony wand hand twitching.

"Perhaps you _are_ more trouble than you are worth."

"But if you kill me, you'll have the _entire_ vampire world after you. Chosen One, remember? And everyone's probably guessed you had something to do with my disappearance by now."

Vlad felt his back pulse angrily, protesting him laying on it when it was badly injured. He ignored it - he had survived it before, he could do it again.

"You think they'll find you here?"

"I think Count Dracula would tear your throat out personally. After inflicting torture with his six hundred years of knowledge. _You_ just have your curses."

Riddle steamed for a minute, then he turned and swooped out of the room like an overgrown bat. Vlad locked and alarmed the door, silenced his shoes and stood up, gasping in pain as he did so. The 'room' he had was sparse and completely un-functional - it contained the bed, two armchairs and a table. No dresser, wardrobe or bookcase. Thankfully for his bursting bladder, there _was_ a tiny bathroom. Toilet and sink, nothing else.

Once his bladder was mercifully emptied, Vlad conjured a cup and filled it in the sink, soothing his rough, dry throat. He vanished it again when done, not wanting Riddle to have any clues about Vlad's powers again. The armchair had been a stupid mistake, peaked Riddle's interest... even more than he already had. Now he wasn't panicking about his legs, had peed and wasn't awfully thirsty, Vlad sat down to take stock of what he had learnt in his captivity, needing to distract from the gnawing ache in his chest.

There was a potential upside - temporarily at least - to agree to Riddle's desire. He could buy them time to work against him, with less interference. There was also the chance to get information about what Riddle would be up to... and with how badly he wanted Vlad and Harry on his side, he was probably going to be at least sort of open to listening if Vlad had conditions.

The question was... would Harry believe him? Or leave him as he thought Vlad defected? And secondly - would Riddle honour _any_ agreement? He probably never had before, but then he had never made a deal with a Dracula before.

Either way, he needed to make his choice _soon_ before anyone got into mischief or danger trying to rescue him. In the mood Vlad had him in... Riddle was going to kill first and laugh about it later, with no questions asked.

And more importantly, he needed to get back to his mate. This unexpected separation would play havoc with the mate bond, and the _last_ thing he needed was Riddle working that out. That settled it... but first, he needed to get back to see if busting Snape out was possible or pointless.

Riddle came back some four hours later, blood splattered across his robes and Vlad felt nauseous. Not that Death Eaters were top of his save-list, but they should be punished for crimes, not because Vlad had pissed off their boss. With his arms supporting his weight on the bed, Vlad couldn't even cover his mouth and nose to block the heady scent of lifeblood. But he could not let on that he was bothered.

"Feeling better?"

"A good murder spree does wonders for the soul."

Vlad raised an eyebrow, wondering just how unstable his soul must be by now.

"Well if you call instability a wonder, sure. I need to see the medic."

"What for?"

"These painkillers aren't helping. Plus I've got a cut on my leg that he didn't heal."

"It can't _hurt,_ surely?"

Forcing himself not to kick the psychotic wizard, Vlad shrugged.

"No, but it'll get infected if left and I'm not much cop at healing magic. That's a human trick."

"Come along Dracula "

"I warned you Tom."

He growled, obviously hating the reminder of his Muggle half.

"Don't play coy, you just asked to see the medic."

"True. Lead the way Tommy."

"Stop that!"

"Then stop dawdling."

Vlad very nearly gave himself away, but just about remembered to re-use the levitation spell and force his legs down with his hands. It felt even more ridiculous now he could walk again, trying not to think about why he thought that could have happened.

"Severus, the vampire boy has some complaints about your service."

"My Lord?"

"You know the drill Riddle. Leave."

Riddle frowned, but left. Vlad waited, knowing he would loiter outside to listen in and tossing a locking and silencing charm up first. Remembering his thoughts before he woke up with working legs again, Vlad grimaced against the pain of his back and shifted himself upright.

"How likely do you think it is I'll walk again? Honestly?"

"Honestly? I don't. Dark curse trauma is innately unpredictable, but more often than not doesn't he-"

Vlad leapt off his seat, standing up and Snape trailed off. Vlad held a finger to his mouth, waiting to see if Snape sold him out. When no immediate shout to attack came, Vlad relaxed.

"How-" he cleared his throat, composing himself "how else can I assist your treatment?"

"Bruise balm, I'll be able to apply it with my wand in a day or two. And then" Vlad plucked parchment and quill from Snape's desk, scribbling out a note "there's this on my leg."

He wasn't taking a risk, just in case they could still hear their voices. The note simply said " _do you want to get out of here?"_ and Snape looked at it in confusion.

"What did this?"

He took the parchment, jotting back _"you have a plan?"_ but Vlad didn't quite feel safe risking admitting everything.

"Could have been a Blast Ended Skrewt, or an Acromantula, or any number of plants I didn't get a good look at in the dark. That maze was madness."

 _"Do you want to leave or not?"_

"I'll fetch a broad spectrum anti venom ointment, just in case."

 _"Come with me."_

Vlad stepped after him warily, watching as he opened the not-a-storeroom door. He wasn't expecting to see what he saw.

* * *

"Well? What is it?"

"You'll find out later. We ought to start working out how we go after Vlad. He's the bloody portkey whiz, not that anybody knows _why._ It's not a vampire thing."

Harry was desperately curious, but Vlad was the priority. His and Ingrid's at least... maybe not Bertrand's. It was hard to tell with the tutor. Ingrid didn't seem immediately concerned, so he was at least hoping she had seen Severus was _alive._

"Well we can get out of Hogwarts from here with this" Harry indicated his necklace "but first... get rid of him."

"Suits me. You want first bite?"

"No no. Ladies first."

Ingrid didn't hesitate, fangs sinking into the man's sinewy neck and Harry watched in morbid fascination. Is this how Vlad would look? He did say he didn't want to bite a human, but Harry didn't know how much 'the change' would actually affect that. She pulled off after a couple of minutes, pushing the half-dead body over to Bertrand and wiping her mouth.

"Make sure he's definitely dead. Durmstrang isn't getting a half fang head."

Bertrand nodded, turning the man around and biting the unmarked side of his neck. Harry wasn't sure if that was an etiquette thing... it seemed it would have made more sense to re-use the site currently bleeding still. When Bertrand was done, he tossed the man to the ground.

"Dry. All yours Harry."

" _Bindus._ _Levicorpus._ Throw my cloak over him?"

Ingrid complied, then rapped him on the head with her wand. Harry jumped at the sudden impact, looking down in surprise as his body started to blend like a chameleon.

"Disillusioned. Easier than an invisibility charm."

"Ok then. I need to get him up to the tower."

"I thought your snake lived in Bertrand's house?"

"Uhh... not so much. He's been living in a trunk under my bed since before fourth year started "

"He what? Courtesy of Vlad somehow, am I right?"

"Kind of. Yeah. Anyway... shall we?"

Ingrid rolled her eyes, charming herself invisible and Bertrand followed them to the hidden one-way exit. It felt pretty weird creeping along hidden corridors and secret passages invisible, carrying an invisible corpse to feed to his Basilisk. Luckily the tower was still empty, ensuring Bertrand didn't look weird wandering about the place. They dropped their charms once Harry had gotten his trunk out, watching in amazement as Harry opened it.

"Hang on, I need to get him to close his eyes before you come down."

"We'll close _our_ eyes, we can hardly just hang around here visible."

"Good point. Down he goes."

Harry dumped Karkaroff down into the trunk, a satisfying thud of bone on stone as Ingrid and Bertrand followed him down slowly and carefully. Samael poked his head out from his heat-room, obviously perplexed.

"Wizard? What's going on?"

"A lot. Number one, would you mind eating him? We need him definitively disposed of where nobody will ever find him."

"I confess humans aren't really a part of my diet, but I can make the exception for you... Who is this?"

"Igor Karkaroff. Headmaster of Durmstrang, defected Death Eater. He was the one getting Vlad almost killed repeatedly in the tournament."

"Ah. A personal vendetta."

"Kind of... we took him to the Chamber, and he saw me transform. Too much risk to let him go."

Samael hummed, scooping Karkaroff's body up and swallowing it whole. There was a hint of cringe, but the acid within his stomach wouldn't struggle with digesting anything.

"Uh, any chance we can open our eyes some time?"

"Yeah, hang on. What's that charm again?"

Harry cast the protective enchantment on both of them, then told them they could open their eyes.

"Ingrid, Bertrand, meet Samael. This way, this spots too small."

Harry led them out to the 'outside' section, watching the vampires stare rabidly as Samael slithered along, coiling his body and resting his head where Harry could reach to stroke his scales.

"You smuggled him out, and then back in to Hogwarts inside a magically expanded trunk?"

"Yep. This trunk was my birthday present from Vlad last year. Complete with outdoors, bathroom and heat room. We used Samael's bath to teach Vlad how to swim for the Second Task."

"And you _still_ didn't notice he was hopelessly in love with you?"

Harry shrugged, patting Samael and taking what comfort he could from his familiar.

"I wasn't ready to see it. Unlike Vlad, I don't have some vampiric instinct telling me who to fall for."

Ingrid rolled her eyes, but Harry still thought something was up with her. Samael flicked his tongue out, tasting the tension on the air.

"What's happened wizard?"

"Vlad's been taken. We think by Riddle, because nobody else would have gone to all the trouble. Nobody else _could_ have. We know where to start looking, but the problem is **Vlad** is the one who does portkeys well. And none of us can apparate."

Samael hisses in thought, bumping his head against Harry's chest and inhaling his scent.

"You've changed. Fully."

"Uh, yeah. Unintentionally, and it felt really weird at first but then it was _amazing._ But right now I gotta find Vlad."

Ingrid and Bertrand couldn't understand a word either of them were saying, but neither complained.

"I... I have a suggestion you may dislike."

"Tell me."

"Wait. If your mate was gone, you would know. I suspect your vampire has his own escape plan, and you going after him will slow him down and put you at risk."

"I can't die."

"You do not need to end a mans life to kill his spirit."

Growling in frustration, Harry turned to the vampires.

"Samael thinks that if Vlad were dead, I would know. And that Vlad will be figuring out how to escape, and that we would only be putting ourselves in danger. Like you said Ingrid - Vlad's the portkey whiz."

"So your overgrown lizard" Samael grumbled at Ingrid "no offense, Slytherin here, big snake fan and all... but he thinks we should hang around and wait for my idiot brother and your bats in the belfry grandpa to be done fighting and Vlad to somehow escape?"

"Riddle didn't want Vlad _dead._ He wanted Vlad for... something. The Tournament was meant to be a test."

Harry bit his lip, feeling his 'fangs' had grown a little since he changed. His clothes felt a little snug too, but they weren't his magically tailored ones - those should still fit. With any luck... he was done growing outwards at least now.

"So what do you suggest?"

"I'm going to go wait in the Chamber, because if Vlad pops in anywhere it will be there. Plus... I ought to sleep. That's the only time I get to see what Riddle is doing, and without Vlad here I'm basically guaranteed to have those sort of nightmares. You're welcome to stay with me Ingrid, or go find out what's going on. Bertrand, go keep an eye on Krum."

Bertrand cocked his head slightly, wise eyes burning in his youthful face.

"Excuse me?"

"Nobody knows about me and Vlad. But his ex boyfriend is going to be fair game for leverage."

"Agreed. How do we get out of here?"

"Back the way we came. Hold on, I'll check for visitors." He turned back to his bigger familiar "You stay here Samael, I'll bring the trunk with me and you can stretch in the Chamber."

"Yes wizard."

Harry climbed out of his trunk, seeing the dorm empty but hearing voices in the common room.

"It's empty up here but some of the students are back."

"Way ahead of you snake boy. Get out of my way."

Harry jumped out of the trunk, only able to tell that Ingrid and Bertrand were there because he was so used to Vlad doing something similar.

"Put your cloak on. We have to move, that spell won't hold as long on a non-magic vampire."

Harry yanked his cloak on, locked his trunk and carefully loaded it into Vlad's never-not-useful backpack. They went carefully so as to make sure they didn't walk into anyone, hearing the buzz of gossip down in the common room.

"Dracula's missing!"

"Yeah, and nobody can find Harry either."

"Or the girl Dracula."

"How can anyone miss _Ingrid?_ She's hot... even for a Slytherin."

Harry almost laughed at the third year boy - some things **never** changed. Luckily, they weren't long in waiting for someone to open the portrait hole so they could get out, and slide into a side passage. Not a moment too soon, as Bertrand's invisibility began to flicker. Ingrid cancelled it and her own, turning to where Harry knew by now a vampire could sense him beneath the cloak.

"How come that spell didn't hold? Glamour charms do."

"Vampires are resistant to concealment magic - other than their own. The more complicated the charm, the more our innate magical-creature core fights it. Ironic when you consider that stealth is a staple of our unlife."

Magic was confusing. Harry dropped his hood, feeling weird being the only hidden one.

"I'll go ensure the Bulgarian is safe. Ingrid?"

It took her a minute to decide - Harry almost thought it strange, Ingrid scarcely dithered.

"I'm staying with Harry - I'd never miss a chance to explore a Slytherin stronghold."

"Very well."

"Wait Bertrand. Take this."

Harry handed Marauders Map, ensuring it was active.

"I'm guessing you know how to be discreet with that, but you'll be able to see if Vlad's back on there."

Bertrand nodded, tucking the Map into his inside pocket and 'flitting' off. Ingrid watched after him, and Harry had a startling moment of realisation. He would know that pained, longing look _anywhere._

"Don't even think about saying a word about what you're thinking. Let's get to the Chamber."

Ingrid halted him from asking, vanishing back beneath her spell and Harry threw his hood back up. The Chamber opened for him again, and Samael stretched out along his old haunt with a relieved sigh.

"I enjoy that I can be with you all year round, but it is nice to be out of the trunk for once."

Harry hissed an apology, spelling a patch of ground dry, clean and Ingrid conjured up leather armchairs like she was lighting a candle - effortlessly.

"Hermione, Draco and the Weasleys must be doing their nut. Merlin, tonight has been weird. And just so you know, I won't ask about... the thing. But if you want someone who's even more out of their depth in all this stuff to talk to, I'm here. And I won't even tell Vlad."

"Thank you. Now be quiet."

Harry shut up, knowing he needed to relax to fall asleep, to have any chance of seeing what Riddle was up to. But he had forgotten how to fall asleep without Vlad with him, and Dreamless Sleep would completely defeat the point. Some time into his silent thought process, Ingrid swiped Vlad's backpack and dug through it until she found what she was after - Vlad's Honeydukes bag.

"This doing nothing is frustrating. I see why Vlad has a bad habit of vanishing off when someone needs saving."

"Tell me about it. He's got one day, then I'm breaking out if I have to ride Samael like a battle steed to make people move out of the way. And that's only because I trust his promise."

"Promise?"

Harry nodded, taking the chocolate frog Ingrid handed him.

"He said he would always come back to me."

"For evils sake. Worlds _sappiest_ Dracula."

Ingrid was surprisingly easy company - she was probably as worried about Vlad as he was, but she wasn't the type to go to pieces and that helped Harry keep his head on straight. Even while his chest had a weird sort of ache in it, making him wonder if falling for Vlad had begun to make the bond two sided. He knew a vampire could hurt missing their mate... And Samael had called Vlad _his_ mate.

It was all guess work really - Harry was apparently the first human to ever be the subject of a mate bond. And given that he was already somehow immortal and part basilisk, Harry doubted it was a precursor to future vampirism for him.

Ingrid fell asleep first, casually flicking through one of Vlad's books on magical creatures as though it would disguise the concern he could feel in the air. Samael wasn't asleep yet, but he had ceased conversation a while ago. Harry couldn't sleep, could just feel the ache in his chest continue to grow. For the first time he could remember... Harry wasn't even hungry.

A buzzing noise came from Vlad's bag after some time, and Harry realised it was morning as he tiredly cast a tempus charm, stole a pepper up potion from Vlad's stash and hunted for the source of the sound. He found Vlad's charmed journal, knowing the password-charm to open pretty much everything Vlad owned.

 _Hermione Granger:_

 _I know you have his backpack. At least let everyone know you didn't get kidnapped too! Had to find out from Bertrand after you pulled a Houdini last night._

 _Vladimir Dracula:_

 _Sorry! It was hectic. And I didn't pull anything... Ingrid did. Is everyone else ok?_

 _Hermione Granger:_

 _Fleur is still a wreck. Viktor is going out of his mind, and Cedric is still in the Hospital Wing. The Weasleys got to stay last night too, and everyone's just really confused. There are teachers looking for you two you know. Oh, and Karkaroff did a runner, but not really surprised since he was probably behind it all._

 _Vladimir Dracula:_

 _They won't find me. Ingrid's sleeping, but I'm sure she would have something to say. Don't draw attention... we may decide to go searching for Vlad yet and the less clues people have on us, the better._

 _Hermione Granger:_

 _So long as I'm the first to hear you have eyes on our idiot best friend again._

 _Vladimir Dracula:_

 _Deal. Let us know if the Ministry invades Hogwarts or something._

 _Hermione Granger:_

 _They can't. Vlad's technically the VHC's problem and the Ministry can't out him as a biter. There's a presence for show, but there's not much they can do._

 _Vladimir Dracula:_

 _Useless beaurocrats. Or as Vlad calls them - beaurobats._

 _Hermione Granger:_

 _We'll find him Harry. I better go, time to force an unpleasant potion into my boyfriend._

 _Vladimir Dracula:_

 _Lovely!_

Harry closed the book, knowing Draco was always most resistant the first day of the Wolfsbane potion week. Hermione would be busy - at least Ingrid had finished the batch for the month before becoming distracted by her brothers kidnap.

He eventually began to doze off, and as he expected, the dreams took over seemingly the second his eyelids fell closed.

 _"Leave it! I wear short sleeves, no way that's staying hidden."_

 _"It's not your arm I'm after."_

Harry was jerked awake what felt like instantly by Ingrid throwing a book at him, blinking sleep out of his eyes as the Chamber glowed with fire.

"Vlad!"

"Hey. Look who I found!"

By the looks of it, Vlad could barely stand up, stumbling as he indicated Severus Snape next to him. He was holding... something. But that wasn't as distracting as the skull and snake brand emblazoned on Vlad's scarred chest. Harry saw Fawkes swoop off of Vlad's shoulder, the vampire tilting dangerously to one side.

"I have had a very, very long night. I will explain it all... soon."

Vlad dropped like a stone, stopped only by his sisters speedy reaction as he fainted. Samael thankfully knew enough to keep his eyes closed with the newcomers, and thankfully they already knew about the Basilisk. Ingrid's eyes - despite the fact she was holding her brother - were firmly fixed on the thing Severus was holding.

Looking closer, Harry realised _what_ it was. Or rather...

"Uh, **who** is that?"

"This is Raven. My daughter."

-YDHP-

 ***drum roll***

 **If this _is_ late, I'm going to try and be back to Friday's as soon as possible? But bear with me if it's not until whichever day this went up next week. **


	59. Profoundly Patient

**YokaiAngel - don't die of suspense, you'll never get the answers!**

 **You - remember as of yet, Voldie has no clue that he and Harry share a heritage at all. As for the rest... you'll see!**

 **BlueAutumn12 - who doesn't love a good plot twist?**

-YDHP-

"You have a _daughter?_ Who's her mother?"

Severus looked at Harry, that look that said "what on **earth** is wrong with you?" and Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"She doesn't have a mother Harry. She has two fathers. Just look at her."

Taking a closer look - since he was heading over to his unconscious boyfriend anyway - Harry saw an olive face, deep black eyes and unmistakable curls atop her head.

"He... you... is that even possible?"

"It's _exceedingly_ rare, even more so when you factor vampirism into the equation."

"Whoa. So she's-"

" Half vampire, half human. Put me down!"

Vlad gasped out the words like he was in pain, practically throwing himself out of Ingrid's stabilising grip to land on the ground front-down. This displayed the mass of bruises down his back, a distinctive lightning bolt making it's way down most of his spine.

"You took the curse for Fleur."

"Of course I did. I told her to take the Cup, it was my fault she was there" Vlad stopped to awkwardly dig in his pocket, swallowing the pain killer like it was elixir of life "and I knew it wouldn't kill me. Is she ok?"

"Shaken. She came back just babbling that you were dead. Your Bulgarian bon bon is apparently pretty tightly wound too."

Ingrid hauled her brother to his feet, as intrigued as Harry was by the Dark Mark burned into his pale chest. Vlad looked down, then back up with fatigue written all over him.

"I'll explain all this later, I promise. But I am exhausted and in pain, so can it please wait a few hours? I haven't defected, if that's what you're worried about."

"I expect to be involved in this conversation."

"Of course you do Ingrid. Right now, I think you should go get Bertrand and Draco. They may want to meet their daughter and sister. Harry can take them to Bertrand's quarters, I better go let the world know I lived. No, wait. Other way around. Harry and me will go face the humans, Ingrid take them."

Like a captain assigning soldiers, Vlad somehow managed to think when Harry's mind was an absolute blur. He was dying to fling himself at Vlad and hold him tight, but the bruises on his back said that while Vlad would welcome it, it would cause him great pain to do so.

"You have my bag? I need a shirt."

Harry nodded blankly, handing over the bag for Vlad to rummage through, pulling out a plain black t-shirt he usually wore for Potions practice. He grimaced as he had to lift his arms to pull it on, the pain on his face so acute Harry could almost taste it.

"I relieved your mate is safe, but may I be permitted to re-enter my trunk? It is very noisy out here and the phoenix is as unsettled by me as I by it."

Samael gently prompted Harry, the hissing sounds giving him something to hold on to, grounding him as he guided Samael back into his trunk, promising they would come see him as soon as there was time. The trunk went back into Vlad's backpack carefully, then they left under invisibility spells and whispers as they separated once Harry let them out of the Chamber.

"Where do you want to reappear?"

"If I'm with Fawkes, it can be anywhere really. This way."

Fawkes had vanished again, Harry noticed, but Vlad seemed unconcerned by that as he gripped Harry's hand tight and led him down a few side corridors, spotting Ministry officials 'investigating' absolutely nothing and having no clue the one they were meant to be looking for was walking straight past them. Coming to a vacant spot, Vlad's voice was suddenly closer to his ear.

"Go find Draco and Bertrand. Best bet is the Great Hall at this hour."

"Where are you going?"

"Not far, but it'll look suspicious if _you_ find me after your apparent vanishing all night. Go, I'll not be long."

Harry didn't want to leave Vlad, but he was right. He could see Vlad wasn't any more eager to leave him, and he _had_ kept his promise - he came back to Harry.

"Alright. I'll go find them."

"Thank you."

Vlad slipped away, leaving Harry feeling almost... rejected. Vlad always took the time to kiss him, touch him or reassure him in some way.

 _Get a grip Harry. He's not leaving for war, he'll be back._

Rubbing a hand over his face, Harry set off toward the Great Hall, which was still abuzz with activity. He forced himself to walk ahead to the Gryffindor table, ignoring eyes on him until he found his seat next to Hermione and Draco.

"We were starting to worry. Oversleep did we?"

"Yeah, it's almost as though I was up half the night panicking about Vlad."

Stomach rumbling now there was food in front of him, Harry piled his usual breakfast sandwich together - with extra mushrooms - and turned his eyes up to the Head Table to find that keen gaze of Bertrand's on him. Knowing the vampire could always tell something was up, Harry simply waited - it wouldn't take long for Vlad to be 'found'.

Black pudding satiating his basilisk-needs, Harry had just started on a syrup soaked stack of pancakes when Bertrand's head turned to the open main doors, drawing attention from the others at the Head table and a minute later there were sounds from the Entrance Hall doors before a flurry of Ministry workers flooded through the door, drawing even more attention. As soon as the whispers began when people caught sight of a muddy, unsteady Vlad, Hermione turned to Harry.

"You were supposed to tell me!"

"Wasn't time. Take Draco to Bertrand's quarters when you have a minute."

Hermione was about to open her mouth in reply, but Dumbledore stood up at the Head table.

"Everyone will please stay in their seats!"

Harry stopped listening, already wondering how best to escape when Tonks appeared behind him, casting an amused glance at the half-finished pancakes in front of him before tilting her head.

"I know why I'm here. _You_ know why I'm here. If we could find Ingrid I'm sure she would be getting pulled out too."

Harry nodded, standing up and trying to not appear like he already knew Vlad was alive and (relatively) well. He heard "special treatment" mumbled more than once as he made to follow Tonks, but paid it no mind - how many people would turn down the chance to see their best friend, especially after disappearing for a whole night.

A circle of Ministry officials, someone Harry immediately recognised as a vampire loitering in the shadows, and a handful of assorted parents filled the Hospital Wing. Harry hadn't even noticed the other Champions weren't in the Great Hall. Remembering he was supposed to have only just seen his boyfriend, Harry aimed for adequate surprise and moved closer to where Vlad was probably reassuring Fleur he definitely wasn't dead.

"Vlad!"

"Harry! Don't hug me, I'm filthy."

Itching as he was to touch Vlad anyway, Harry resisted and simply stood close to him, now able to show open relief his friend was back.

"I saw you..."

"I'm sorry, that must have been terrifying for you, but it's over now. Are you alright?"

Fleur nodded, placing a hand on Vlad's arm and squeezing as though she needed to be sure Vlad was really there.

"You saved my life. And my sisters."

"We'll talk more some other time, promise. But I need to get looked at, and ditch the grumpy stalkers."

Harry snorted, watching the annoyed Ministry folk. They wanted to know what had happened to Vlad, but had no pull to force him as he wasn't under them - he was basically the VHC's guest at Hogwarts. Unless Vlad broke the rules or the _law,_ they could do nothing.

"Mr Dracula. It's in your best interests-"

"To get myself checked over, yes. Which is a _private_ thing, and it's not a healing environment with all of you in here. If I wasn't myself, that guy there" Vlad pointed to the vampire "would know about it. So unless you're here to announce how annoyed you all are about the cross-school win, then present us with prizes... you can leave."

Vlad's words annoyed them, Harry could see, but then Madam Pomfrey and Tonks teamed up to remove them, clearing a huge space in the Hospital Wing. Vlad openly silenced the doors, then grimaced and turned his back to Madam Pomfrey, showing her the bruising without displaying his chest to everyone else as the fabric twisted around his torso.

"There's nothing much you can do for me, I know. But I would _really_ appreciate a few hours uninterrupted sleep."

"I should put your name on that private room."

Vlad winked, tilting his head to Harry and promising he would talk to his fellow Champions later, he headed to the private room. Cedric tipped his head, confused at Harry's presence where Vlad was going to sleep.

"What's Harry doing, watching you sleep?"

"I don't trust those guys not to break in and rummage through my sleeping mind. I know Harry will keep an eye on me."

"You would do the same for me."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry caught knowing smirks play across both Fleur and Viktor's faces as he followed Vlad into the room. Madam Pomfrey called them breakfast in there, and then left them both alone in there. Vlad locked the door from his awkward position on his side, bit the bacon sandwich in his hand and smiled at Harry, still looking far too attractive with his cheeks stuffed with food.

"Is it as bad as last time?"

Vlad swallowed thickly, pushing himself upright with a grimace to reach for his goblet of juice to help the sandwich go down.

"I don't think it hurts _more,_ but it's a lot easier to jar it now because everything pulls on it. The important thing is I can walk again."

"When couldn't you?"

Vlad looked up at him, sighing.

"I will explain it, I'll explain everything I promise. But I only want to go through it once. Which reminds me..."

Vlad pulled his backpack out of his pocket, rifling through it until he found the black-and-red journal that had _Dracula_ inscribed down the side.

"Just telling Ingrid to stay out of sight if she opts not to stay with them in Bertrand's quarters. I don't want her breaking in here."

Once he was done - and Harry had eaten more sugary things to make up for unfinished breakfast - Vlad beckoned Harry over, kissed him softly.

"Lie with me?"

"You're in pain."

"Don't care. Missed you."

Harry laid on his side too, letting Vlad sling an arm over his waist and stomach, face buried in the back of his neck and he could _feel_ Vlad relax with Harry's proximity. Having not slept much himself, Harry felt exhaustion creep up on him now he and Vlad were reunited. It made Bertrand and Ingrid confuse him more - who _wouldn't_ choose this level of connection? - but then he thought of Raven, of the connection of creating a child between the two male lovers.

Even so... Vlad and he were so well matched. They just... _fit._

"Shh. Time for sleep now, not thinking."

Smiling to himself, Harry let his mind fall blank, felt Vlad pull him even closer still. For a second, he almost felt the Dark Mark burn between them, but it fell away just as fast - Vlad wouldn't have such a thing without a damn good reason.

He trusted him.

* * *

Everything hurt, he was so _tired_ and Vlad really didn't want to even speak to anybody but his mate. But he made himself reassure the others, settled Fleur a little and managed to steal away into the side room of the ward with Harry. He made himself eat a little, if only to pass the time while Harry ate and Vlad basked in being able to see him again.

Then Harry was laid next to him and Vlad could finally sleep properly, unusual for them to both be clothed but it was so worth it to have his mate in his arms. His back didn't even hurt as much. Everything was better with Harry.

Vlad didn't sleep very long - the painkiller wearing off was a most effective alarm, but the exhaustion was somewhat lifted as he rubbed his eyes and smiled when he saw Harry still asleep next to him. A _tempus_ charm told him it had only been an hour and a half, but it was enough. Food charmed to stay warm meant Vlad could awkwardly sit upright, eat some eggs and sausage to fuel his body - protein to heal, at least while his heart still beat.

He had moved on to a strong, sweet cup of tea before Harry stirred, immediately turning to search for the absence of Vlad behind him, smiling sleepily when he saw Vlad sat up sipping from his mug.

"Hey you."

"Hey you. Any bacon left?"

"Do I ever finish all the bacon?"

Harry grinned, patting his sleep-mussed hair down and shuffling to sit closer to Vlad - after gaining the requisite bacon sandwich from the table - so the two could coexist peacefully. Taking his next painkiller, Vlad felt the pain recede somewhat and let the rest fall to the inner recesses in his mind while Harry took precedence. He was _different_ \- his jaw was sharper, more angular. His elongated canine teeth could almost be seen when his mouth was closed. There was more definition in his arms and shoulders - they were visible against his t-shirt when he stretched.

"I _have_ only been gone a day right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You've... changed."

Harry nodded, 7 his bacon-y fingers on a napkin.

"Literally. I uh, completed the change."

"Oh wow. Was it painful?"

"Not really. Mostly... _surreal._ There are colours I have no name for, everything was loud and smelled different. And I was so **big.** I changed back no problem too. Haven't tried to shift back again, been busy waiting for you."

"We'll have to look into it later, I can compare you to Samael."

"Definitely. And see if I can still use my animagus form... but right now, we should find a way to get up to Bertrand's quarters?"

"Mmm. You'll have to go out first, say you're going to the bathroom while I'm asleep and see who's around."

Harry went, leaving Vlad to cast more thorough cleaning charms on his skin and clothes - he still needed a shower, but that would hurt and he felt a little less gross now. He tidied up the breakfast mess for whichever elf came back to pop the things back to the kitchens. Harry came back with Madam Pomfrey, who insisted he had to be checked over before she would let him leave.

"Alright, but my shirt is staying on."

She rolled her eyes, bustling about and waving various diagnostics charms over him, face clouding with confusion. Vlad panicked, wondering if she could see his Dark Mark somehow.

"What's wrong?"

"Unusual magical signature. Not human, not vampire."

Vlad shrugged, looking himself up and down and hoping there was nothing amiss in his face that Harry could see.

"I don't know. I got cursed, it _hurt,_ I got back. All I've had are pain potions and Replenisher."

"Hmm. I'll expect you back daily to check on the healing of your back, I'm worried about your spine being damaged."

If only she knew...

"Yeah, I know the drill. You stare at me, I get the good stuff. Can I go?"

"Such a difficult patient. Yes, yes, off you go. But-"

"Come back with new symptoms or any numbness in my limbs. I know what spinal injuries can do."

Madam Pomfrey shooed them off, and Vlad took a few minutes to sit and talk to Viktor, who Harry said had been quite openly worried about him. His 'ex' looked much relieved, and thanked Vlad for what he did in the maze.

"I disqualified you."

"You stopped me hurting Fleur. I could have killed you."

"Nah, I knew you wouldn't. Sorry for the headache."

"A small price to pay. Although... any hints on vhen it vill go away?"

"A couple of days. It was the mental equivalent of taking a brick to the head, plus the magical backlash. No flying for a week, you might get the odd dizzy spell or fatigue."

"You could have ended my sons career!"

"Father!"

Having spent what felt like years staring down a room full of death eaters, Vlad faced up to Mr Krum rather nonchalantly.

"Viktor could have _killed_ Fleur. Why not ask **him** what counts more? Quidditch or his friends life?"

"Fleur. Definitely. If Vlad had asked permission first, I vould have told him to di vhatever he had to if it meant I didn't hurt someone."

Mr Krum scoffed, but turned away and Vlad shared a grin with Viktor.

"I better go find Ingrid before she hunts me down and starts a row with Madam Pomfrey. I'll probably see you at dinner if you're out of here."

"I von't go back to Bulgaria until I see you again. Promise."

"I should think not. We've got the whole Triwizard Cup nonsense to deal with yet. Get well soon Cedric, and-"

"Vlad!"

A small, warm set of arms enveloped Vlad's waist, looking down even though he knew it was a half-sized Veela - Gabrielle Delacour. It took all he had not to cry out in pain as she put pressure on his back, hoping she let him go soon.

"You saved my seester."

"It was nothing. I'm just glad she's alright."

"Gabrielle, let 'im go! 'E eez injured."

"Sorry!"

Blissfully, she released him, and Vlad and Harry were finally able to escape. His back throbbed, feeling like a steel weight where the young girls arms had been.

"Are you ok?"

"Peachy. I wish I had thought to change in the bathroom in there, I'm filthy."

Harry's eyes lit up a little, beckoning Vlad along to one of the passages that led up to the fifth floor, which was deserted. Once there, he turned at the statue of Boris the Bewildered, counting doors and leaning into one before muttering "line fresh". The door clicked open and Harry pulled Vlad in, closing the door behind him and flicking a switch that - according to his mate - would make the door read occupied.

"What is this?"

"Prefects bathroom. Available only to Head Boy, Head Girl, prefects and... Quidditch Captains. McGonogall said I was on the top of the list for the Gryffindor captain if the tournament hadn't happened, which entitled me to this place. Of course, it wasn't her that told me that part... I got the password off Cedric ages ago and sort of forgot about it."

Vlad walked in, looking at the absolutely cavernous bathtub, what looked like an art installation made of taps and a moving painting of a mermaid who appeared to be sleeping.

"And you brought me here because?"

"Because you can't take a regular bath or shower without hurting your back right? In here... you can safely float about. Plus, there's probably a muscle relaxer in one of these things..."

If Vlad's mind diverted to the fact Harry was going to be in the room with him while taking a bath, and then on to all potential connotations of that... well, nobody had to know that.

"Go nuts then, I'll let you play with the taps."

Harry grinned, shedding his t-shirt and Vlad's mouth went very dry. Was Harry getting in the bath _with_ him? Kicking off his dirty shoes, Vlad nudged them aside and cast a cleaning charm on them to at least prevent them staining the floor, then watched as the enormous tiled hole in the floor began to fill with water. One poured a sweet lemongrass scent out, another thick purple bubbles that floated densely over the water like oil.

"Do you want me to turn away? I know you're shy."

"Uh, yes?"

Harry smiled, turning away and even jokingly taking off his unnecessary glasses. Vlad gave his clothes a glance, consigned them to ruined and emptied his pockets, pulled out fresher attire from his backpack and placed it next to the towels piled up on a ledge to stop them getting wet. Next went the nervous part - vanishing his clothes. Feeling ridiculous - Harry had essentially seen him naked _anyway_ \- Vlad vanished his clothes and almost slipped in his haste to get into the water.

"Oh sweet Lucifer, that is **good."**

The hot water eased his back immediately, whole body turning to jelly beneath the heavy bubbles and Vlad was very glad he had learnt to swim. The heavy purple ones even came up high enough to mostly mask the ugly brand on his chest, the one Harry had no explanation for yet but accepted him anyway.

"Can I turn around yet?"

"Sure."

Harry turned back, watching Vlad paddle in the pool-sized bath.

"Aren't you glad I taught you to swim?"

"I had that exact thought when I got in. Are you- I mean..."

"Only if it won't make you uncomfortable."

Cheeks heating for reasons unrelated to the hot water steaming around him, Vlad weighed his self-consciousness against unclothed Harry close to him.

"I'll get over it."

Revelling in some innate confidence - or perhaps it was trust in Vlad, he had no idea - Harry stripped off quickly and efficiently, naked and uncaring as Vlad couldn't help staring Harry's entire journey into the bath.

"You're right, this is good. We'll have to sneak in here more often."

"If Ingrid doesn't kill us both for leaving her waiting so we could take a bath."

Chuckling, Harry approached him carefully, keeping his hands above the waters surface so as not to spook his boyfriend.

"I was so scared when Fleur said you were dead. Just about fell apart, if I'm honest. Then she said killing curse and I held on to that hope with everything I had, that you were alive, that I would see you again."

"Takes more than a little magic to keep me away from you."

Vlad's instinct was to back up so Harry couldn't feel what he was _doing_ to him, causing all sorts of embarrassing reactions beneath the bubbles and water, but his fear of knocking his back against the side kept him frozen in place.

Harry seemed to realise, knowing Vlad's tendency to let him lead, never daring to push lest he be rejected no matter how harshly his primal instincts roared in his chest, heating his blood. So instead, Harry backed up to the side, led Vlad closer by tugging gently at his wrist until they were pressed close, water easing the friction between their chests and Harry's narrowed pupils sending pleasant shivers down Vlad's spine.

"You're going to have to stop being so scared of me some time."

"Easier said than" Vlad almost choked, feeling Harry's hands travel down to his hipbones and drag him closer still, _painfully, beautifully_ close "done."

"I know, but I have every confidence in you.'

Harry's sated smile and gentle kisses soothed Vlad as much as the obvious reactions he had had at the time, feeling the hum of the bond as Harry let Vlad take charge just a little, showing only responsiveness and pleasure rather than rejection. Never leaving the bathroom sounded highly appealing, but Ingrid would _actually_ kill him.

"Need me to turn around so you can get out?"

Marshalling his nerve, Vlad shook his head.

"Just don't... don't stare?"

"No promises once you're in your pants again. You're _hot_ Vlad, I wish you would realise this."

Hurrying to pull on his underwear, Vlad felt his cheeks flush again.

"I'm really not. I'm just this strip of vampire, pale and not yet fanged."

Shaking his head to himself, Vlad picked up the button up shirt - much easier to put on - and slid his arms through it, sitting down to put his jeans and socks on. Harry was already dressed, having freedom of movement on his side as Vlad grimaced his way through lacing his shoes up.

Harry waited, gently gripped his wrists and pulled him closer to kiss him, gentle but insistent pressure against Vlad's mouth.

"I'll just have to keep convincing you."

"I can't really argue with that."

Waving his hand to empty the bathtub, then float the used towels over to the obvious laundry receptacle, Vlad turned back to Harry and stopped him before he opened the door.

"Invisibility spells. Unless _you_ want to tell anyone we run into that we were bathing together."

"I'll pass for now. Let's go find the others."

Harry took his hand, then they carefully slipped out of the bathroom. They found nobody, but waited until they were outside Bertrand's quarters to drop the charms.

Right. Time to explain the new 'tattoo' on his chest.

-YDHP-

 **I'm pretty sure I didn't mention Prefects Bathroom before, but I'm still a little foggy from the meds so if I did forgive me.**

 **I know I didn't really explain Vlad's little Voldie-trip in this chapter, but I was in dire need of some fluff to cheer me up. It'll all be in next chapter... which if I'm not mistaken is the last of Year Three and Four. Where did _that_ go? Then it's on to Year Five and Six!**


	60. Explaining Himself

**BlueAutumn12 - explanations are coming! Promise! Well... mostly.**

 **You - You'll just have to wait and see how it all turns out for them I guess.**

 **If this chapter is a tad late, it's only because I was writing the first of Year Five, so you guys can head right on over.**

-YDHP-

Draco, Hermione, Severus, Raven, Bertrand and Ingrid were all perched on seating around Bertrand's living room, which was spacious and full of seating to accommodate the frequent visitors. Bertrand was holding the little girl, looking almost lost as he discovered sudden fatherhood.

Ingrid gave him the once over, and Vlad could see the mix of pain and relief turning over in mercury eyes.

"You took your time."

Trying not to blush thinking about Harry's hands on him beneath sweet scented bubbles, Vlad attempted to appear nonchalant.

"I told you I needed sleep. I see you've all met the new addition."

Draco practically flew at Vlad, and only Harry's intervention prevented him from being hugged when it was just too damn painful.

"He's hurt, you can't touch him just yet."

Draco frowned for a second, but nodded and looked at Vlad with gratitude all but bleeding from his eyes.

"Thank you."

"No problem. You can't tell anybody he's here though, Riddle is gonna be mad as hell I took his Potions master _and_ left without his permission."

Draco went from agreeable to confused, and Vlad knew it was time he answered for the mystery of his disappearance.

"You need permission from You-Know..." he faltered at the stares "Voldemort?"

"He certainly thinks so."

Sighing, Vlad turned away, unbuttoned his shirt and let it slide off his back slowly, knowing the first sight would be the storm of bruises down his spine.

"Whoa."

"Killing Curse packs a real punch. But I couldn't let them kill Fleur, I was the one who insisted we win together to piss off the judges."

Taking a deep breath, Vlad turned back around, displaying the Dark Mark branded onto his chest, the tip of the snakes mouth perched just over the top end of his first lightning bolt scar that marred his torso. Hermione, Bertrand and Draco all looked completely thrown, the others having already seen it.

"He wanted to brand me over that scar, like he was saying just because I survived him doesn't mean I'm better. I think he's got insecurity issues."

If Severus hadn't been sure of their relationship before, he could probably guess based on the way Harry made Vlad sit down, pushing a pillow behind his back to support his injured self and sitting next to him, listening ears clearly on.

"Why was he branding you at all?"

"Because... he didn't want to kill me. He wanted to _recruit_ me. That whole entering me in the tournament was to see my powers in action, to see if I was... whatever he wanted to see in me. And he _absolutely_ wanted to show off he had Severus, insisted I see the medic when it was obvious I couldn't walk."

"Yes, I'm still unclear on how it's possible you can now."

"So am I. I went to sleep half-paralysed from dark magic spinal nerve trauma, and I woke up in just as much pain as before, but my legs worked. It shouldn't have healed. I don't know how it did. I managed to hide that it did from Riddle, but people have seen me walking so he _will_ know."

Ingrid looked him over, vampire curiosity and a Healing-students eyes obviously considering any possibility. Except the one where Vlad was _lying,_ because he had a damn good idea of how he was ambulatory but he refused to think on it right now.

"Moving back new tattoo little bro... dad's gonna flip."

"You say that like dad sees me shirtless regularly. He still doesn't know about the first scar. Yeah. so, I knew I was going to struggle to escape without my legs working, and I also... no offence, but I had to make certain you hadn't defected. I couldn't bring you back here if you were still loyal, but once I saw Raven I knew. The whole time I was there, Riddle was giving me the sales pitch."

"And you antagonised him at every opportunity. I bear no grudge, you were ensuring the safety of my godson."

"And everyone else. So... I was left locked in a room and could only move around by floating like the Bloody Baron. He's right, I did wind up the bad guy a lot. I had to see how much he was willing to be pushed, what he was prepared to give. He even brought me a gift... it was creepy."

Raven sniffled, reaching for Severus and he immediately seemed to know what the girl wanted, reaching in his shoulder bag for a bottle of baby formula. Vlad could see warming charms around the plastic, and what he suspected was a sterilising charm on the teat. Bertrand watched, glacial eyes rapturous until he turned back to Vlad, confused.

"Voldemort gave you a gift?"

"Weasley. He wanted me to kill him. I refused, because while I wasn't against him no longer breathing, I refused to perform for those psychopaths. So... he fed him to Greyback. He's dead."

Vlad stopped, digging through his bag for his pumpkin juice flask and taking a long swallow.

"Then he kept on at me. Said if I joined him, he would guarantee my safety and that of the people important to me. I turned him down, repeatedly."

"Until?"

"Until I saw Raven. I couldn't risk leaving her there, and if I left without them... I just couldn't. So. Knowing how badly he wanted to recruit me, I made some... conditions. And he gave me a lot of nonsensical lectures and I got him to agree to _this."_

He held up his hand, dropping the glamour charm that covered the four lines criss-crossing his skin. They still tingled lightly.

"An unbreakable vow?"

"An unbreakable vow. He cannot send his lackeys after anyone in this room or their families, any Weasley other than Ron, or any student below sixth year without blowing himself up. I couldn't get him to agree to the older students, but by then I figure they are old enough that they'll seek him out themself."

"How?"

"I had to agree to a couple of things, which I worded carefully. And of course _this"_ Vlad indicated the ugly brand "so Mr Egocentric could brag I was now his loyal follower. My conditions included that he couldn't publicise it, and he couldn't demand I leave here until I'm sixteen."

"Why?"

"Otherwise I would risk losing access to the Blood Mirror. All the drawbacks of vampirism, none of the useful stuff. And... it was the only way to buy time. Everything he does has to be under the radar, and we have a **year** to work against him with no interruptions. Guaranteed."

"Thats... almost clever. I'm impressed."

Vlad grinned, glad Ingrid wasn't feeling like giving him a hard time about it.

"I don't like it."

"Hermione, _I'm_ not thrilled. But the alternative wasn't much different, all I did was trade some skin space for some breathing space. We would still be working against him if I hadn't."

She nodded, eyes fixed on the Dark Mark and it was making Vlad feel a little unsettled. He pulled his shirt back on and buttoned up, feeling better to be covered up again even if it jarred his sore back. The opinion most important to him was Harry, his mate sat chewing on Vlad's words.

"What does he intend to do with me?"

"Well, he doesn't know about us... I may have misled him to think I have a vampire girlfriend somewhere. And I expect he either wants to have you on his side, or have me easily available to take you to your death in the future. I don't know."

Lying to his mate was physically painful, but Vlad couldn't give away everything in front of everyone else. Hermione would flay him alive. Hoping his hands didn't shake and give him away, Vlad replaced the glamour charms on his neck and hand, watching Raven stare around the room at all these strangers.

Half vampire, half human. _Two_ biological fathers.

He hadn't even been sure either of those things were possible, until he laid eyes on her.

"We do need to figure out what to do with you two. The VHC can _not_ find out about Raven, and Riddle is going to want you back when he realises he has nobody to brew Wolfsbane when he wants Greyback under control."

Harry's eyes flicked over to the girl, then back to Vlad.

"Why?"

"Because vampires and humans... they wouldn't have cared so much if it couldn't you know, make a baby. But now? We can't let them know. Best case scenario is they take her away and test if she's some kind of super hybrid, a way to manufacture magical vampires. Worst case..."

"What do you suggest?"

Vlad chewed on that, sipping his pumpkin juice with keen black eyes on him.

"We need to stay inconspicuous. You have to stay in these rooms until I can get away and we ward somewhere to Hades and back. Malfoy Manor could work, but may be a little obvious. Bertrand, I'll make you a portkey for so you can go see your daughter, but you _can't_ vanish with him, or Narcissa gets Draco."

His tutor didn't look happy, but the vampire was fiercely intelligent, with a warrior's mind and eventually, he nodded.

"Ok. Is it too late to go to lunch? I feel like we shouldn't _all_ hide away."

Ingrid was the first to look agreeable, and Vlad knew why - she must be uncomfortable to say the least with Bertrand sat so close, watching his daughter.

"If we go down there everyone will be all over you. What's your story?"

"Voldemort kidnapped me. There is no point in lying, Fleur has told the Ministry and, let's face it, who else is so grandiose about their plans? It'll tie in to the whole underage entry thing, and with Karkaroff gone, it'll slot neatly together."

"Your escape?"

"The truth. I was rescued by Fawkes, somebody will have seen the phoenix fire and it's well known those guys bypass almost all wards."

Ingrid nodded, getting Vlad to his feet and Harry and Hermione stood up too, Draco hesitating before joining them.

"It's less obvious this way. I'll be back after lunch."

Leaving Bertrand with his recently returned partner and newly discovered daughter, they all slipped out of Bertrand's quarters and headed down. Ingrid walked in with them - not many people would question his sister talking to him after his disappearance.

As predicted, Vlad was besieged by questions and only his circle of friends kept people from actually touching him as though they could shake answers free physically. He repeated himself several times while trying to eat his lunch, becoming the source of much gossip and speculation - especially when everyone noticed the empty spot at the Head Table.

By the time they had finished eating, Vlad was _exhausted._ He wanted nothing more than for term to be over so he could lay down somewhere until his back healed and it didn't hurt to breathe. On their way out of the Hall, Tonks sidled up, handed Vlad a note, winked and disappeared again, which Vlad unravelled to find the information on when the Tournament winner(s) were to be announced.

Tomorrow.

"The other three Champions are still in the Hospital Wing! i hope they don't expect me to be wearing that hideous shirt from the Third Task, since it's evil knows where."

Chuckling, Harry indicated Charlie Weasley, who was loitering next to Bill in the Entrance Hall.

"Hey stranger. Mums been having kittens, so we were sent to ensure your next stop was our rooms. There's biscuits?"

Rolling his eyes, Vlad prepared himself to tell a somewhat doctored version of events - the Weasleys didn't _need_ to know about Severus, Raven or Vlad's new tattoo. He wondered whether or not telling them about Ron was a good thing - it _could_ be construed as his fault, since Riddle had tried to use him to gain Vlad's favour. And when Vlad refused, he was fed to a werewolf.

"Tell them. Just... gently."

Harry seemed to read his silence as they walked, hanging back a second as everyone filtered in to the temporary accomodations of the Weasley family.

"What if they blame me?"

"They won't. They know Riddle is a mad man."

Harry gave Vlad that smile, the one that was reserved only for him that made bats flutter in his stomach. He could do it - he had Harry.

* * *

After everything that had went on... the announcement Dumbledore made about exams not being cancelled seemed mundane, ridiculous even. He gave some big speech about unity and togetherness, which Harry supposed was highlighted in the foursome stood behind him - the four Triwizard Champions who seemed to have forged powerful friendships despite all the reasons they shouldn't have.

Vlad was doped up on pain relief probably slightly over the safe limit, and even from his seat Harry could the slightly glazed look in his eyes. Even so, the tension in his posture was clear to Harry's knowing gaze. He knew how Vlad looked at ease, comfortable.

"And now, we move on to the Award Ceremony!"

The thousand galleons prize money had already been handed out - split between Vlad and Fleur despite Vlad's numerous protests - to ensure they wouldn't be jumped and robbed in all the crowds. The Minister for Magic stood centre stage, hands fiddling slightly and Harry already knew the man had been attempting to get Vlad alone, to undoubtedly try and get more information from him.

With zero success - he hadn't been interested when they said Voldemort was back before, so Vlad had no faith in the man. Nor did he have any more information to share.

"As they both were proven to touch the Cup at the exact same time" much to their chagrin, both had been accused of cheating, disproved only by Fleur taking Veritaserum "both of these two are the winners."

There was applause and fanfare, predominantly from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, though Vlad's friends at Slytherin could be seen clapping. If anything proved they were both winners fair and square, it was the Cup. As soon as it was out of its box, it spontaneously, magically duplicated itself.

"Miss Fleur Delacour, of the Beauxbatons Academy!"

Fleur stepped up, waving and smiling but it didn't reach her eyes. Harry hadn't realised until now, watching most of the boys around him look sort of dopey, that Fleur no longer had any effect on him. Hadn't for a while. Was that a gay thing? Or a mate thing? He wondered, then focused again as he heard

"Vladimir Dracula, of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Vlad ambled forward, took his trophy and managed a sort of bow, face tensing as his hair fell over it before stepping back, somehow keeping the smile on his face when visible. He watched as Cedric patted Vlad's shoulder, sipping from a goblet as they waited for the ceremony to be done with.

"As both of these young men were in First and Second place prior to the Third Task, but neither completed the maze, we have agreed to award them both joint second."

"To pacify Vlad, I'm sure."

Hermione muttered next to him, and Harry found himself agreeing - Viktor Krum had been cursed in the maze, because of _their_ poor security and had Vlad not intervened the way only a vampire could have, Krum could have killed Cedric too. That threw the whole process out - it hadn't been a competition by that point.

"Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang!"

As it contained the Durmstrang students, the Slytherin table cheered loudest, but Vlad clapped for his fellow Champions too and so the Gryffindor table followed suit in noise if not enthusiasm.

"Cedric Diggory, again of Hogwarts-"

Fudge was cut off by a collective gasp as Cedric keeled over, halfway to reaching for his consolation trophy. The other three Champions all immediately went to his aid, and Harry could see Vlad send Fleur to get someone, gesturing and mouth forming a word Harry couldn't quite read in profile.

Madam Pomfrey hastened to reach them, the other professors and staff attempting to keep the students away as they predictably tried to swarm, blocking Harry's view almost entirely. He saw Professor Moonshine get pulled close by Fleur, vanishing behind the wall of students converging.

By the time the crowd thinned as students were directed back to their seats, the Champions had all gone - including Vlad. Moonshine and Tonks were both examining a goblet closely at the little table of drinks on stage, muttering closely to each other and the contrast between a scarred haggard, aged man and a bright faced, green haired female auror was something to behold.

"Who would want to do Cedric in? I mean, he's not a bad guy."

Harry shrugged, having no answers for Fred. He was itching to go after Vlad, still reeling from his disappearance and craving constant contact to know he was safe. Luckily, Vlad didn't seem to mind Harry being a little clingy, but Harry knew it was unhealthy for him to constantly monopolise all of Vlad's time.

Some twenty minutes later, a harried looking man in crimson robes appeared at the door, sharing secretive whispers with Fudge and then Dumbledore. Wholly expecting a lie, Harry waited.

"Mr Diggory is fine! There is no cause for concern, he is merely still recovering from the injury he sustained in the Tournament. You may continue on with your day, but please only go to the Hospital Wing with a genuine ailment, or face the wrath of Madam Pomfrey."

That was enough to scare even the most curious and nosy of students. Well, except Harry, who let himself be carried away in the sea of students before taking a shortcut up to right beside the Hospital Wing. Which was, rather dramatically, being guarded by an Auror.

"What's wrong with you then?"

"Nothing, but Vlad's in there and he's got my homework in his bag." seeing the auror about to deny him, Harry changed tack " If you want to tell Professor McGonogall you're delaying me doing my Transfiguration essay, then by all means-"

"Fine. Don't be long."

Escaping from the gruff, grumpy Auror, Harry felt his whole body seemingly sigh in relief seeing Vlad was alright. In fact, he was being rather aggressively _thanked_ by Amos Diggory.

"Sir, please. It was nothing."

"Dad, let him go, he's still hurt!"

Cedric's voice was raspy, but otherwise clear and he was sat up in bed, only looking a little grey in pallor. Diggory senior finally relaxed his grip on Vlad's hand he had been shaking vigorously, moving back to his sons bedside.

"You gotta stop saving our lives Vlad" Cedric coughed a little "people will think you're a hero."

"I jammed a stone from a goats stomach down your throat. Normally, people wouldn't enjoy that."

Vlad was making his way to Harry as he spoke, sadly realising they weren't alone and stopping before Harry felt he was quite close enough.

"You did what?"

"He was poisoned. I asked Fleur to see if Moonshine had a bezoar to hand. It wasn't anything spectacular."

"Who tried to poison Cedric?"

Vlad sighed, face clouding and Harry panicked.

"They didn't. That was aimed at me. However, there's a lesson here Diggory" Vlad turned back toward the Hufflepuff _"don't_ steal my pumpkin juice."

"I was thirsty! And I had finished mine, you hadn't touched yours."

Flopping back on his pillows, Cedric grinned lazily at Vlad. Apparently he bore no ill will for the mix up.

"I better go before Mr Sociable outside comes in to yell at Harry for sneaking in here. If you're still in tomorrow I'll see you when I come get my checkup."

"Thanks again Vlad."

"Don't mention it. Seriously. I'm no hero."

Harry knew better, waiting until they were alone outside in the bright spring sunshine before he turned to Vlad, who was staring across the lake where it glittered under the rays of warmth.

"Someone tried to **kill** you?"

"Whoever it was is an idiot. All they've done is get the attention of everyone else with a real poison, when all they have to do to off me is find a way to mask the smell of Transylvanian Wolfsbane. I wouldn't know what hit me."

He was almost cavalier about it, as though this attempt on his life was utterly inconvenient but little more.

"Is there a way to _cure_ that, should someone clever try to kill you?"

"Now? Yeah, get it out of me. After I transform? No, I'll be dust before you can stop it."

"Any clue who it was?"

Vlad sighed again, turning to Harry and the sun caught his midnight-blue eyes in all the right ways. He indicated his hand, the one with four lines striping around it beneath a glamour charm Harry ccould sort of see through.

"It can't have been him. I think the Ministry is starting to get nervous about me being here. I wouldn't mind, except I'm worried they'll go after Ingrid to get to me. She's only got a year left here, so we just have to get through that. Let's try not to give the Ministry any excuse to be here next year."

Harry nodded, wishing more so that they were alone so he could try and comfort his boyfriend.

"What about when you transform?"

"I'm the Chosen One. They won't go after me once I'm transformed, the VHC would tear them to shreds. One year... we have to survive one more year, then everything _should_ get easier."

Over the next few days, Cedric was released from the Hospital Wing healthy and the Ministry left Hogwarts. Then came Durmstrang and Beauxbatons leaving, with Fleur's promise to stay in touch and Harry's offer to leave Vlad and his ex alone.

He trusted Vlad, and in a way, he _owed_ Krum. Harry might never have seen Vlad properly if he hadn't gotten the jolt from the Bulgarian.

Watching Vlad and Cedric hug Krum and Fleur goodbye as they prepared to go, Harry smiled to himself just a little. The Tournament had been terrible, but Riddle had accidentally forged bonds between the schools supposed to be fighting each other.

In trying to force his way between them, Riddle had weakened his own position - these two and their friends would resist because Vlad did, because a magical vampire targeted by a madman had put his life on the line - for other people and for their friends and families, and that meant far more than the empty promises and dark motives of Harry's psychotic grandfather. Harry smiled a little more when Vlad actually crouched down to say goodbye to little Gabrielle Delacour, who seemed a little starry-eyed over the teen vampire now.

"I told them only to write when it's term time, because owls won't come near Stokely and I didn't want to give away anything else."

"Makes sense. I hope Krum doesn't think I dislike him."

"Nah, he's actually quite fond of you. May be down to all the time he spent listening to me talk about you when we were 'dating'. He's a good guy. Just doesn't know how you feel about him."

Vlad smiled from his position on Harry's chest, their usual sleep positions reversed while Vlad's back healed. It wasn't a _bad_ way to sleep, but Vlad always woke up first and couldn't leave with Harry on his chest, and Harry didn't like waking up to Vlad disappearing on him. Plus, he just wanted his boyfriend to be better in general.

"Are... are we ok?"

"Uh, yeah. Of course. Why?"

"I mean about this."

Vlad sat up and pointed to the brand on his chest, the one Riddle had permanently etched upon pale skin.

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"You never touch it. Most of the time you avoid looking at it."

Vlad looked genuinely distressed, and Harry felt guilty for it.

"I'm sorry. I guess it's just... I don't like that he touched you. I don't want to think about him when we're... you know. _Alone._ And I guess I don't touch it because I'm worried it'll react to me, it'll know who he is to me."

Face tensing in thought, Vlad eventually seemed to relax.

"I can deal with that I guess. As long as it's not some secret worry of yours that I was turned by him."

"If I was worried about that I wouldn't be sleeping in a bed with you."

Finally, Vlad smiled.

"Speaking of. You should sleep, your exams start soon."

"Git. You too, you need rest to heal and I miss being able to just toss you on your back and have my way with you."

Vlad's breath hitched, pupils dilating and Harry wondered if he shouldn't have said that... they really _should_ sleep. But... if Vlad was feeling up to it, Harry wouldn't deny him.

And they both slept _amazingly_ well afterward.

Vlad had been exempted from exams as he couldn't be expected to revise _and_ prepare for the Tournament all year round, which Harry found sort of hilarious. As Harry would happily - Vlad **wanted** to do exams, to test himself. But he wasn't allowed.

The time _was_ put to good use though - he managed to get Severus and Raven to Malfoy Manor, and from what he understood the place was now a veritable fortress - in Vlad's own words.

" _I_ probably couldn't break in there if I came across it. And wards are kind of my thing. A plus side to vampirism is that they can't put that Trace on us, because we come of age differently."

"How's Bertrand meant to portkey there during term time?"

"He's staff. He can leave whenever he likes so long as someone has applied a sun protection charm on him and he doesn't slack on tutoring."

Exams seemed to melt away until term was almost over, and Harry was trying to ignore how Vlad had to go home rather than come to Malfoy Manor, lest his father lose patience with Vlad's absence.

He also got the feeling Vlad was hiding something, and he couldn't shake it. If he weren't certain Vlad was being truthful about being a double agent when it came to Voldemort, he would be seriously concerned.

Still...

"Vlad?"

"Hmm?"

He looked up from his book, having been doing some actual studying for his Blood Test the following Halloween. As ever, he smiled up at Harry. Everyone else was out letting off steam in the summer sunshine, but Vlad was still reticent about being around crowds ever since he got back from Voldie-central.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"About..."

"Voldemort. Not to sound conceited, but I know he wouldn't have come after you if you weren't my best friend. But you haven't said a thing about that."

Vlad frowned, sighed and put his book to one side, beckoning Harry to sit on his bed and charming the curtains closed, then silenced. It made the spot stiflingly warm, but Harry presumed it would only be temporary.

"You're right. But... I didn't want to dump it on you until I had a plan to get around it."

"Well, tough. We do things together Vlad, so spill."

Harry could _feel_ Vlad bracing himself, preparing for whatever he was about to say.

"He gave me a task. One to _prove_ I could turn you to his side."

"What was it?"

"Kill Dumbledore."

-YDHP-

 **And that, ladles and jellyspoons, is the end of Chosen Two Year Three and Four!**

 **Can you believe we've gone through four years with these boys?**

 **I will resist the urge to post this now (Monday) because I want you all to know you can head right on over to Year Five. (I take no responsibility for you looking at my other stories that aren't in this crossover-verse you have been warned)**

 **BUT**

 **Leave a review, tell me how Year Four went for you first? Reviews make me so very happy.**


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